Bill would beef up sex-crime law

JUNEAU -- People who use drugs or alcohol in cases of rape or molestation to incapacitate their victims could face stiffer penalties under a new bill now before the state legislature.

A measure sponsored by Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, passed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. That is just the first step in the process leading to a new law, but Meyer is hopeful the bill will pass through Senate review to become law.

Meyer's chief of staff, Lorali Carter, said Stand Together Against Rape (STAR) wants to see stiffer penalties in sexual-assault cases because perpetrators commonly give drugs or alcohol to their victims before the attack. Meyer serves on STAR's board of directors.

HB 297 would create a new aggravating factor in state law that would allow a judge to impose more jail time on defendants who use drugs or excessive amounts of alcohol to lower their victims' inhibitions to the point where they become easy prey to sexual assault.

"Rohypnol and GHB are commonly known as 'date rape drugs' that some sex offenders use to prevent their victims from being able to resist, and to improve their chances of getting away with such crimes," Meyer wrote in a prepared release about the issue. "Date-rape drugs are not the only substance used to this end, either. Adults are using large amounts of alcohol to lower the inhibitions of children and make them less able to resist sexual abuse."

Under HB 297, judges who find a felony sexual assault included such use of drugs or excessive amounts of alcohol as an aggravating factor may increase the presumptive sentence of the defendant to up to the maximum term of imprisonment for that offense.

"It is important to realize that this aggravator is applied at sentencing, after a defendant will have already been convicted of sexual assault," Meyer said. "I want a judge to be able to give the perpetrator more jail time if they used drugs or excessive amounts of alcohol as a way to further their offense."

Dean Guaneli, the chief assistant attorney general who oversees state's district attorney offices, said he isn't sure what this bill will accomplish that is not already covered. One aggravator judges can apply in such cases speaks about an offender who picks out a vulnerable victim, someone incapacitated in any way -- even temporarily by drugs or alcohol.

"We see this often enough. We have had cases of date-rape drugs, but not a lot those," Guaneli said. "When we do see drugs or alcohol used, which is a lot in other kinds of sexual offenses, the judge already takes that into consideration. However, it's more difficult to prove that if someone buys someone a few drinks, that they should be given more jail time because they did so intentionally to help them commit their crime."

That aside, Guaneli said such a law could be an asset. He would like to see the legal system armed with more tools, Guaneli said, such as this bill that forces judges to increase the jail time.

"I think it could help in the most serious cases," Guaneli said.

HB 297 moves next to the House Finance Committee.