[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E16]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF PROTECTION FROM SEXUAL PREDATORS ACT

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce the Protection from 
Sexual Predators Act. Like many of you, I am tired of picking up the 
morning paper and reading about the latest serial rapist to be caught, 
only to see printed a laundry list of his previous convictions for 
sexual assault. Our constituents deserve to be protected from the 
country's worst repeat sexual predators.
  The Protection from Sexual Predators Act passed the House last year 
by a vote of 411 to 4, and allows Federal prosecution of rapes and 
serious sexual assaults committed by repeat offenders. The measure 
requires that repeat offenders convicted under this section be 
automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole. In other 
words, two strikes, and you're in--for life.
  It's time we got tougher on the most violent, repeat sexual 
offenders. These habitual sex offenders are a different kind of 
criminal--their recidivism rates are incredibly high, and they are 
known to strike again and again. Often these serial criminals will 
venture from one State to another, and if they are caught, they seldom 
receive the harshest penalties under the current law.
  When my bill is passed into law, violent sexual predators such as 
John Suggs of New York City will not be free to rape again, and the 
Supreme Court will not need to deliberate whether to release lifelong 
child molesters back into society as in the case Kansas v. Kendricks, 
currently pending before the Supreme Court. This measure will make our 
streets and neighborhoods safer, for children, the elderly, and the 
women of this country.
  My bill will require courts to hand down tougher sentences, ridding 
our communities and neighborhoods of the most brutal offenders who prey 
upon the most vulnerable in our society.

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