Tough child porn laws planned
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
By Kerra L. Bolton
kbolton@citizen-times.com
RALEIGH — A special legislative panel that met Tuesday plans to draft legislation to toughen penalties against child pornographers.
Now, a person convicted of possessing child pornography faces four to six months of probation, the same punishment handed out, for example, to those who play illegal beach bingo.
Other states have tougher penalties. Child pornographers in Georgia face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
“With such weak sentences, they realize there’s no debt to pay,” said Rep. Bruce Goforth, a Black Mountain Democrat. “They either get a suspended sentence or they get a plea bargain. They don’t see any teeth in the law.”
Part of what’s driving the new legislation, Goforth said, is a Western North Carolina case in which a Black Mountain sex offender arranged to meet a girl he picked up online at the Asheville Mall.
Lawmakers are working out the details of stricter sentences. But the proposed legislation will include money for computer forensic labs and full-time officers to investigate Internet crimes against children.
Right now, local law enforcement agencies do not get state money for these resources.
This comes as part of ongoing efforts to crack down on sex offenders in North Carolina. (more…)
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