Representative Sherry Roberts Statement on H5757 which strengthens and clarifies penalties for sexual assault

 

State House, Providence, RI – Representative Sherry Roberts offers the following statement on her bill, H5757, heard in House Judiciary, which strengthens and clarifies penalties for persons convicted of sexual assault:

Historically, Rhode Island has raced to compete with other states to be “first” on an entire host of issues that have been deemed a priority, but sadly in my experience, childhood sexual abuse has not been one of them. Furthermore, our priorities seem to have been somewhat misplaced, as there are laws that would put people in jail for longer periods of time for less offensive crimes, than for sexual assault against children. It often feels as if our children have taken the back seat as a priority, compared to many other issues that we have addressed.

As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and contrary to what some may even fully realize, I can affirmatively state that we have not created adequate laws to sufficiently protect children from sexual assault, nor have we made it easy for victims to receive justice after such a reprehensible crime -- a crime from which most victims have an extremely difficult time recovering.

Nationally, 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18, with the highest risk of victimization between the ages 12 - 34.  Only 6 in 1000 perpetrators will serve prison time for sexual assault. Rhode Island comes in 5th as one of the highest-ranking states for sexual assaults for school aged children according to the US Department of Education, and 59% of the assaults go unreported to the police. According to DCYF, in 2021, there were 6,938 child maltreatment cases in Rhode Island, with 4.7% of those cases deemed sexual abuse.

I would know this because prosecuting my offender was nearly impossible and it took me a lifetime to figure out how to navigate the system to overcome many obstacles, in search of results. As in my case, even when the victim seeks justice through the court system, the perpetrator can receive a simple slap on the wrist with a reduced sentence to avoid jail time. Make no mistake, this result is not justice. While the admission of guilt is a step in the right direction, the lack of consequence in the form of jail time, absolutely adds insult to injury. In fact, the lack of justice after such an experience, actually has a negative impact and re-victimizes the individual suffering from that deeply traumatizing event.

Today, we have the power to change that with House Bill H5757 by requiring people who are found guilty of 2nd degree sexual assault to be forced to serve a minimum jail sentence behind bars, which cannot be suspended or deferred. After all, the victim never has the ability to “opt-out” from the abuse, nor the lifetime of sufferable consequences.  Hopefully, clarifying the mandated sentence, that include jail time for childhood sexual assault, will help deter predators from destroying a child’s life in the future. If the passage of this bill can help just one child in the state of Rhode Island, then publicly pursuing my perpetrator was worth it.
 

Note:  On November 16, 2022, Representative Sherry Roberts received justice in a 40-year sexual abuse case, where the perpetrator was her stepfather.  He started grooming her at the age of eight and sexually assaulted during her teenage years. Harry Noel Edwards received a 10-year suspended sentence with probation after he agreed to plead no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree sexual assault.

 

 

A New York City grand jury hearing former President Trump's hush money payment case will meet Thursday. Reports say that's the plan after Wednesday's session was canceled. The investigation centers around alleged payments Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to cover-up an alleged affair.       Management at Silicon Valley Bank "failed badly." That's what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters when speaking on the bank's recent collapse. Powell said management grew the bank very quickly and exposed it to significant liquidity and interest rate risk and "didn't hedge that risk."       The world is watching how the U.S. and its allies are responding to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. That's what Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate panel. Blinken said allowing Russia to invade Ukraine with impunity would open a pandora's box of issues that go well beyond the conflict.       Three people have now died as a result of contaminated eyedrops. That's according to the CDC. The health agency adds eight people have lost vision in at least one eye and several others have had their eyeballs removed through surgery.       Amanda Bynes will accept an extended stint in a Los Angeles mental hospital after being found last week wandering naked near downtown L.A. TMZ reports she had been living on the streets for several days before flagging down a driver to call 9-1-1 herself. The actress was initially placed under a psychiatric hold for 72 hours upon entering the hospital early Sunday morning.       Get ready to say goodbye to the current version of the Chevy Camaro. That's because General Motors is stopping production of it early next year. It comes as GM pursues an electric vehicle strategy.