Olympia…State Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, author of a comprehensive measure to enact “Jessica’s Law” in Washington and close loopholes in sex offender registration laws, is taking additional steps to protect children and vulnerable adults from these monsters. 

“My ‘Jessica’s Law’ bill, Senate Bill 6389, puts all convicted child molesters away for 25 years to life,” Benton said. “I agree with Mark Lunsford, Jessica’s father, to let people in trusted positions who abuse that trust to molest a child off with a lesser or deferred sentence is outrageous, a travesty and simply absurd.” 

Under Benton’s proposal, all offenders who murder their victims would also be eligible for the death penalty. 

Benton’s new proposals will toughen registration requirements for sex predators and crack down on those who essentially subvert registration by claiming to be transients. 

Benton’s measure, Senate Bill 6519, will require sex predators to verify their registration information every six months – whether they move or not – instead of once a year, as is now required. Failing to do so is a class B felony.

His second proposal requires so-called transients to give their last known address and the address and phone number of their nearest relative. (SB 6634) 

“We can’t monitor these people if we don’t know where they are,” Benton said. “Allowing people to get off the hook by claiming to be transient is wrong. They have some connection somewhere in the community. Let’s nail that down.” 

Benton said he filed these provisions as stand-alone bills to keep the issue of registration clearly visible. 

“We have offenders out there now, living in our neighborhoods,” Benton said. “This issue isn’t just prospective, we also have a duty to target existing offenders with tough new laws.”

“Jessica’s Law” is named for Jessica Marie Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered on Feb. 23, 2005, by a previously convicted sex offender who was in violation of his probation and had failed to register his change of address with local law enforcement. Her father, Mark Lunsford, was in Olympia last week to attend the Jessica’s Law rally and testify on legislation. He vehemently opposes House Bill 2411, which targets only offenders who are strangers to their victims. 

Benton, in keeping with his history of protecting children from sexual predators, introduced his bill to enact “Jessica’s Law” in Washington the first day of session. 

Benton’s comprehensive bill, Senate Bill 6389, contains these provisions:

• Increase the penalty for lewd and lascivious molestation of a child to life in prison or a split sentence of a mandatory minimum 25-year prison term, followed by lifetime supervision with electronic monitoring.
• Make sexual predators who murder their victims eligible for the death penalty in capital cases.
• Designate failing to re-register as a sexual offender/predator or harboring or assisting a sexual predator/offender a third degree felony.
• Require those already convicted of sex crimes to have electronic monitoring for the remainder of their probation.
• Require community corrections officers to check the sex offender registry to note whether an offender newly assigned to them is a sex offender and if all reporting requirements are met.
• Require offenders to report twice yearly to verify and update registration information with the county sheriff. 

During the 2005 session, Benton won significant changes to state laws to protect children from teachers and coaches who abuse their positions of trust in order to prey on students.  

“I started my effort to protect children from sexual predators by targeting offenders known to their victims and in a position of trust for that victim,” Benton said. “That’s why I find the focus of House Bill 2411 just as offensive as Mark Lunsford does. Let’s get real, something like 90-95 percent of all child molesters are known to their victims. The man who raped and murdered Jessica worked at her school.” 

--30 –

 For more information contact: Penny Drost at 360-786-7522 or drost.penny@leg.wa.gov