SILVER’S BAD ACT (‘Little House’ star rips rape loophole)
Actress Alison Arngrim, TV's original mean girl, Nellie Oleson, is taking on an unlikely foe: power-wielding pol Shelly Silver, whom she accuses of blocking a vote that would prevent incestuous rapists from getting slap-on-the-wrist sentences. Basically, New York law right now says that is you rape your neighbor's child, you're looking at as many as 25 years in jail. But if you rape your own child, it's a lesser felony and you get off with virtually no time, Arngrim, who was raped as a schoolgirl by a relative, said. She is lobbying to pass legislation to close the so-called incest loophole. The law under attack which has been on the books since colonial times, allows a sex abuser who is related to a victim to be charged with incest, which is considered a nonviolent, Class E felony that allows immediate probation and has a maximum 4 year jail sentence. Sex offenders with a nonrelated child under the age of 11 is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Sex with a nonrelated child under 15 is a Class D felony, with a 7 year maximum sentence. the Senate unanimously passed a bill in February sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn) that would make sex with any child Class B and Class D felonies. it has stalled in the Assembly.
(New York)
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