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Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell said yesterday that 12 recently passed laws have put the state on the judicial cutting edge in taking child sexual predators off the streets.
"We now have the strongest laws against child sexual predators in the nation," McDonnell said at a forum by the Culpeper Taskforce for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
The forum, held in conjunction with National Victims Rights Week, involved the Virginia State Police, the Culpeper Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the Department of Social Services and the Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative.
McDonnell told the group of about 30 at the forum that more than 40 percent of convicted sexual predators commit a similar crime within five years of their release from prison.
"This is why I fought for a 25-year mandatory sentence for a first-time sexual offense against a child," he said.
The attorney general said that new law and others expanding electronic tracking and civil commitments for some offenders after their release from prison also will help keep children out of harm's way.
"There is no cure for pedophilia, and these are laws that will allow children to be children without the fear of sexual violence," he said.
McDonnell said that the newly enacted child sexual offender laws are just the latest in a series of dramatic legal changes dating back to the mid-1990s that are designed to protect crime victims.
"These changes have been made because victims are reaching out," the attorney general said. "I'm excited about getting the word out between now and July 1 [when the new laws take effect]."
Beth Kierdy, representing the Sexual Assault Victims' Volunteer Initiative, said that about 40 percent of sexual abuse cases in Culpeper, Orange, Fauquier, Madison and Rappahannock counties involve children. Another 25 percent involve adults who were molested as children.
Lisa Peacock, director of social services for Culpeper, said her office gets an average of 22 child-molestation complaints a month. About half of those turn out to be valid, she said.
Tom Turner, speaking for the state police, said Virginia's Internet sex-offender registry ranks in the middle of the pack nationally in providing up-to-date information. He said additional funding and manpower should help improve the system.
"The state is providing $2 million in new funds for 50 new troopers, six other [state police] staff members and more computer hardware and software," said McDonnell. "[These improvements] will be great news for parents."
The attorney general concluded by saying that he intends to be tough on violent crime during his term in office.
"Public safety is going to be the top priority for me in the next four years," McDonnell said.
To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com
