'Vasean's Law' Needed For Sexual Predators

Recently an individual was convicted of a number of assaults of a sexual nature committed against a child. The child was nine years old when the assaults began and 14 when they ended with a rape. After a jury trial, the individual faced the maximum allowable under the law- seven years in prison.

In another criminal case, which concluded at about the same time, another individual committed a series of fraudulent acts which resulted in several people being bilked out of their life savings. The total amount stolen was several million dollars. This particular individual faces more than a century behind bars.

Commandments in several religions attest to the immorality of acts of thievery and we do not argue that theft is wrong. We do, however, question the value we set on the lives and persons of our children when an acknowledged child rapist under the laws of the sovereign State of New York, by the grace of God free and independent, can do less time than someone who commits a nonviolent, so-called "white collar" felony. As it stands right now, you can do less time for raping a child than you can for making away with a barrel of pigs' feet. Something does not add up here.

In 2005 the state legislature passed new legislation imposing tougher penalties for drunk drivers who kill or seriously injure victims after 11-year-old Vasean Philip Alleyne was struck and killed by a drunk driver as he and his best friend, 12- year-old Angel Reyes, were crossing 73rd Avenue at 150th Street in Kew Gardens Hills on Oct. 22, 2004. Reyes sustained head injuries that left him comatose for a week. The 56-year-old driver, John Wirta, under the law in effect at the time could be charged only with misdemeanor DWI as a first offense, incurring a penalty of a fine of $500 to $1,000 or up to one year in prison or both.

The mothers of both children spearheaded lobbying efforts for Vasean's Law, which eliminates criminal negligence, such as speeding, as a requirement for proving vehicular assault or vehicular manslaughter. The law, passed by the legislature and signed by then Governor George Pataki, creates the presumption that in the case of serious injury or death involving alcohol or drugs, the driver's intoxication caused the accident.

The passage of Vasean's Law sent a message to drunk drivers and their victims alike. To the drunk driver it said: No longer can you get drunk or take drugs and get behind the wheel with impunity. To the possible victims, their families, friends and caregivers, it said: We value your life and person, and we will hold responsible and punish severely anyone who uses alcohol or other intoxicants or narcotics to turn a motor vehicle into a weapon to maim and kill.

We call on our state legislators to pass similar laws toughening the penalties for sexual abuse of children. It is a recognized fact that victims do not get over sexual abuse as easily as they would a bad cold. The reminders are always with them, no matter how much therapy and loving care they receive. To send someone to prison for less time than some victims of sexual abuse have been alive adds insult to injury and in too many cases, turns a sex offender loose to do it again in only a few short years.

We commend District Attorney Richard Brown for his many successful prosecutions of those who prey upon children. Brown- and every district attorney in every county in this state- deserves the tools to enable him to do his job even better, faster and more effectively than his already impressive record attests. We call on the legislature to put those tools into his hands and by so doing tell children victimized by sexual predators that we value them at least as much as we do the proceeds of a bank holdup or a stolen car.