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Bahamas Government Wants Up To Life Imprisonment [Tougher Legislation] For Child Rapists
Related to country: Bahamas

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Gov’t Wants Stiffer Penalties For Child Rapists:
By NAVARDO SAUNDERS -
Nassau, Bahamas:




The government wants to amend the law to give judges the power to sentence child rapists to life in prison, according to Attorney General Claire Hepburn.

Speaking at the recent Chamber of Commerce 2nd Annual "Meet the Ministers Forum", Senator Hepburn said the government wants amended the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act.

"The law as it is now, the judges are only able, where there is a first offence, to sentence up to seven years and we are now proposing to amend that so that the courts would have jurisdiction to give up to life imprisonment," she said.

"But of course not that they would get life imprisonment, but so that the maximum penalty is that and the court will have to take into consideration all of the facts of the case to determine what ought to be the proper penalty."

The government believes that in many instances the seven-year maximum sentence is insufficient, considering that child rape is a most heinous crime, Senator Hepburn said.

The issue of child pornography is also of concern, she indicated.

"There will be major consequences for those who exploit and abuse children," Senator Hepburn said. "We have to send a strong message that it will not be tolerated."

Senator Hepburn’s comments drew applause from the businesspeople attending the Ministers forum.

Her comments came on the heels of a well-known children’s advocate in Grand Bahama calling for stiffer penalties for child predators.

Rev. Glenroy Bethel, the spokesperson for the families of Grand Bahama’s five missing boys who were murdered in 2003, recently called on the government to enact tougher legislation to punish child rapists and murders.

Rev. Bethel, whose son was also brutally murdered, said a message must be sent that violence against children will not be tolerated. (His son’s murder was not connected to the missing boys’ case.)

A combined funeral for the five boys will be held in Grand Bahama July 5.

Senator Hepburn was joined at the forum by six of her cabinet colleagues, who answered questions businesspeople had about various matters, including crime, the economy and the rising cost of living.

The attorney general said the government also wants amended the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code Act to allow judges to hand down stiffer penalties in cases where people are found guilty of aiding and abetting.

"The government will amend the law for the offence of accessory after the fact," Senator Hepburn said.

"You would be familiar from reading the newspapers that oftentimes persons escape custody or the police are looking for someone and they can’t find them and it turns out that some friend, family, girlfriend whoever it is, would have been hiding them, giving them sustenance, aiding them in their attempts to avoid arrest – that is an offence."

June 30, 2008

June 30, 2008 | 11:15 AM Comments  0 comments

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