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RICHMOND, Va. - State legislators passed a law Saturday that would require adults who French kiss a child younger than 13 to register as a sex offender.
Those convicted of tongue-kissing a child would be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The House of Delegates passed the legislation 96-1 and the Senate 39-0.
The bill now heads to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who said he supports the legislation.
Delegate Riley Ingram, R-Hopewell, introduced the bill on behalf of a woman whose 10-year-old daughter was French-kissed by the 62-year-old husband of her babysitter.
The only crime prosecutors could charge the man with was contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which did not require that he register as a sex offender.
Ingram and other members of the House fought to make the crime a felony, but in the final day of the 2008 General Assembly regular session gave in to senators who thought that classifying it as a felony was too harsh.
Delegate Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, cast the lone nay vote, refusing to back down from his belief that the crime should be a felony.
"I think that type of behavior is so egregious it warrants a felony," Hamilton said.
Ingram said he was satisfied that a conviction would land someone on the sex offender registry.
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Virginia Sex Offender Registry
All parents should visit the Virginia State Police Website, Click The Sex Offender Registry, & find the zip code option. I did it years ago when my youngest son was still a minor. There was one living right across the street. While I didn't confront or harass the guy or anything, I did warn my son that the guy was a sex predator, had a history of preying on children, & kept an eye on him for suspicious activity. Even though my children are grown, I still check it just to see if any new ones have moved in, & find out what they are convicted of. I think the website is great!
Better Idea
Instead of a law, there is much better way to deal with animals like this 62 year old pervert... like a severe beat-down by those in the neighborhood, followed by a "he must have fell down a few times" policy from all the participants with cooperation from local law enforcement.
Yeah, I know. Not all dreams come true.
Eeeks
I had no idea this was even an issue..Is Virginia slowly becoming the laughingstock of the USA or what?
I have lived everywhere ...
But I had to come to Virginia to find a place where so many adults french kiss children, there ought to be a law.
What's the punishment for kissin' cousins?
Poor Kid!
OMG, Hope this isn't sharing way too much information but I was 16 when I was first kissed this way and I will never ever forget it because I felt truly violated. I cannot imagine what this poor little girl was thinking, and especially an intimate kiss like this from a 62 year old man! It's just too disgusting! I would like to see his stinking butt in jail where maybe he gets a taste of his own medicine.
Actually Rose, People Moving North Has Occurred In Vast Numbers
I have heard of it, even In Virginia. Their journeys north are well documented in history as "The Underground Railroad". Some of the travels have been transposed into documents from statements by the "travelers". Recently, many people from this area moved North to MI due to the Ford Plant being closed, because they could still work with Ford that way. I mean there are many examples, and, only a 700 Character limit, but the fact can hardly be disputed. I mean nothing personal with this post, & can hardly blame you for reacting to the post you are mentioning. I never flag anyone, but chose to ignore some of those, who I consider unworthy of my opinion, or incapable of intelligently interpreting my response, for obvious reasons.
This man is sick...
The 62 year old man who french kissed a 10 year old little girl is definitely sick...and deserves to the charges given to him with the requirement to be registered as a sex offender. That's exactly what he is...a sexual offender.
The laws in some states are so lenient while others can be a bit too harsh. I'm glad VA state legislators decided that we needed to change the law.
One of the states that takes it to the extreme is the state of Georgia who charged a high school male senior with 10 years in jail without the possibility of parole for receiving oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. It was a misdemeanor in the state of GA to have sexual intercourse. But considered a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.
After the 17 year old was charged, the state of GA decided to change the law. Unfortunately the law did not apply to cases retroactively.
This young man was an honor student, a terrific athlete and homecoming king...now he's a convicted felon because of an archaic GA law.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=Wilson
Strange
something tells me that the incident has been blown completely out of proportion. What are the contributing details? This article is vague and some people have way too much time on their hands. If the man did it, punish him in accordance with the laws that currently exist (common sense, i tell ya) and fire the babysitter... if our lawmakers enacted laws for each gross violation, the would get nothing else done...
what the heck?
I'm glad the Pilot printed this. What the heck are our legislators doing in Richmond? If someone purposely tried to "French Kiss" my young daughter, I'd just kick his {explative} as a warning if he did it again explain what would happen to him. We already have underage sex laws. Either amend the definition of those or leave it alone.
Mason-dixon line
I'm sure these kinds of acts occur in other places besides south of the mason-dixon line. Law & Order: SVU for example happens where? NYC! Oh, but wait that must all be based on things that happen in the South. Afterall, nothing bad ever happens up North. Whatever