Some state lawmakers say current law allows those convicted of importuning, or soliciting a minor for sex over the internet, to escape serious penalties. Now, they want to pass a bill to toughen those punishments.
Sponsors of the bill say predators often are sentenced to little or no prison time. Republican Representative Tim Schaffer’s bill would create a mandatory six-month minimum prison term for anyone convicted of the crime.
“Nobody wants to go to state prison. I think that’s fair to say. And the threat of a mandatory prison term hanging over the perpetrator’s head, I hope would help deter them,” he said.
The same bill passed the House unanimously last year but there wasn’t time to get it through the Senate before the two-year session ended. Lawmakers now have until the end of next year to pass it this time around.
