ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Inspired by a pair of mothers telling the story of their daughter's abuser getting off the private child sex offender registry and having the chance to go back into a Maryland school.
Senator Johnny Ray Salling put in a piece of legislation to strengthen penalties against minors who sexually assault someone else.
"It literally causes people to be in harm's way, the innocent, the parents won't even know it and the student that they may have someone sitting right next to them that's a sex offender," Salling said.
"You send your children to school expecting them to be in a safe environment and when you have predators walking the halls, it's not safe," one person who didn't want to be named said.
In this proposal, kids who commit the crime must stay on the registry until they are 21. Schools have to be notified they're put on the sex offender registry.
Those on the registry cannot attend any in-person school in the state that received public funding and victims have to be notified when they get off the registry.
Today, the bill was heard before the judicial proceedings committee.
"This bill holds significant implications for our children within Maryland education institutions," Salling said.
A group of five academics and lawyers stood opposed to the bill, claiming it goes too far against the perpetrator and violates his or her civil rights.
"We are concerned about the basic due process, it provides a permanent ban," Melissa Feliciano, office of the public defender, said.
"We know treatment works for children with sex offenses," Kelly Quinn, Deputy Director of the Choice Program at UMBC, said.
"Decades of research documents that children and youth adjudicated of sex crimes are unlikely to re-offend, are amenable to treatment and harmed by one size fits all crime policies," said Elizabeth Letourneau, director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, said.
Lawmakers from both sides argue their standpoint of the bill
Senators on the JPR committee took offense to the lack of communication with the bill sponsor, Senator Salling who says the opposition never reached out to him ahead of today's hearing to see if they could work out their differences.
"I find it offensive, offensive number one, you don't have time to go meet with the senator," Senator Mike McKay said.
And challenged the assertion that this bill ignores facts and focuses on fear.
"All children deserve classrooms not screens, we believe in facts not fear," Quinn said.
"And then they're back in schools without anybody knowing, can you tell me how that's not a fact? -- That is a fact and it's way over you're fear that you're expressing that they're not getting their education entitlement," Senator William Folden, a Republican in Frederick County said.
The bill is not cross-filed though there is a similar consideration in the house.
Now it's up to Maryland's senators to decide if it will make it out of committee.
