WPost: More teachers are having sex with their students. Here’s how schools can stop them.

A 14-year-old student in Florida wrote his cellphone number on a classroom chalkboard because he wanted a classmate he liked to call him. The student indeed was contacted – not by the girl but allegedly by his 32-year-old teacher. Within days, police said, the two were involved in a sexual relationship.
In Pennsylvania, a 33-year-old teacher approached a 17-year-old student at a school dance and began flirting with him, police said. The married teacher then sent the student sexual text messages and photos, along with a video of herself performing lewd acts, according to news reports. The relationship escalated, and the teacher pleaded guilty last month to institutional sexual assault.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/20/more-teachers-are-having-sex-with-their-students-heres-how-schools-can-stop-them/

Press Release: MD Legislators Eliminate Loophole in State Law Regarding School Staff and Teen Sexual Relationships

Two months ago the Parents' Coalition was contacted by advocates for Maryland children. These advocacy groups had been lobbying the Maryland General Assembly for 10 years to close loopholes in Maryland law that have allowed Persons in a Position of Authority to escape prosecution for sexual conduct with teenagers.  One such case occurred in Montgomery County in 2012.  

The Parents' Coalition is gratified to report that on April 7, 2014, the Maryland General Assembly finally passed a bill that begins to address the loopholes that have existed for over a decade in this Maryland law.  

Our Maryland legislators passed a bill that will amend current law to permit Persons in a Position of Authority who are employed or under contract with a public or private preschool, elementary school, or secondary school to be prosecuted for sexual contact with teens.  Part-time employment at a school will no longer be a bar to prosecution under this statute.

Loopholes still remain in Maryland law with regard to volunteers, coaches in programs outside schools, and recreational programs.  These loopholes give persons in positions of authority a free pass to sexually exploit teenagers.
  
The Parents' Coalition appreciated the opportunity to work with outstanding advocates for children including Ellen Mugmon, a long standing child advocate; Eileen King, Executive Director of Child Justice, Inc.; Dr. Wendy Lane, Chair, Child Maltreatment and Foster Care Committee, Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; and, Ed Kilcullen, State Director, Maryland CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Association, to name just a few of the many advocates for children that have worked for over a decade to eliminate these loopholes in this Maryland statute.

We thank Delegate Luke Clippinger, Senator James Brochin, Senator Karen Montgomery, Senator Norman Stone, Delegate Sam Arora, and Delegate Kathleen Dumais, for communicating with the public as this bill made its way through the legislative process.

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: contact (at) parentscoalitionmc.com

Legislature Passes Severely Amended Senate Bill 460, Rejects House Bill 781

We will post more on this legislation when the final documents are available. We know for sure the House version of this legislation was rejected.  
For now, here is the message we got this evening from Senator Bobby Zirkin. 


Taken With Webpage Screenshot

Coach loophole in MD law won't be closed unless Senate concurs with House bill #HB781 #SB460

Date: Mon, Apr 07, 2014
To: karen.montgomery@senate.state.md.us, anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us, eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us, craig.zucker@house.state.md.us, kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us, arunamiller@gmail.com, brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us, susan.lee@house.state.md.us, jennie.forehand@senate.state.md.us, kumar.barve@house.state.md.us, jim.gilchrist@house.state.md.us, delegatesimmons@aol.com, richard.madaleno@senate.state.md.us, alfred.carr@house.state.md.us, ana.gutierrez@house.state.md.us, jeff.waldstreicher@house.state.md.us, roger.manno@senate.state.md.us, sam.arora@house.state.md.us, bonnie.cullison@house.state.md.us, benjamin.kramer@house.state.md.us, jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us, sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us, brian.feldman@senate.state.md.us, david.fraser.hidalgo@house.state.md.us, bill.frick@house.state.md.us, ariana.kelly@house.state.md.us, tom.hucker@house.state.md.us, heather.mizeur@house.state.md.us, nancy.king@senate.state.md.us, charles.barkley@house.state.md.us, kirill.reznik@house.state.md.us, delegaterobinson@gmail.com

There have been hearings, votes and press coverage of the current loophole in Maryland law that permitted Montgomery County coach Scott Spear to escape prosecution for his relationship with a 16 year old.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/montgomery-teacher-scott-spear-resigns/2012/06/20/gJQA4bfUrV_blog.html

But, unless the Senate concurs with the House version of the bill today, the loophole won't be closed.  Coaches will still be able to escape prosecution for sexual relationships with 16 year olds.

If the Senate doesn't concur with the House version of this bill, Maryland law will continue to give persons in positions of authority a free pass to sexually exploit teenagers.

When this legislative session is over, could someone please identify the constituency in Maryland that has fought so long and so hard to keep this loophole in place? What Maryland parents are fighting to keep this loophole?

Clearly, they are the silent majority as there has not been any public comment in favor of keeping loopholes in this law, yet the loophole remains.

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland                  

It's not about a guy in a bar... .@BobbyZirkin

There have been a number of attempts in the Maryland legislature to pass legislation to protect teens from sexual abuse by Persons in a Position of Authority over the years.  

When discussing legislation that concerns adults having sexual contact with teens, Senator Bobby Zirkin cites the case of the 23 year old man who met a 15 year old girl in a bar.  The audio below is from a Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing on March 7, 2012.  In that hearing Senator Zirkin recounted the story of the 23 year old man.  

We hope that when the Conference Committee that is set to meet on Monday, April 7th takes up Senate Bill 460 and House Bill 781 Senator Zirkin will not be citing this case.  

The legislation that is before the Maryland General Assembly right now involves Persons in a Position of Authority over children.  Those Persons KNOW they are the adults and KNOW they are in charge of children.  

It's not a surprise! 
It's not a bar! 

It is children in schools, on teams, and in recreational programs that will be protected by the proposed legislation passed by the House. 
Will the Conference Committee put the House version of this legislation before the full assembly for passage?

First speaker in audio is Assistant State's Attorney for Anne Arundel County.  Then Senator Brian Frosh speaks and turns the floor over to Senator Bobby Zirkin who tells the story of the 23 year old in a bar. 


Audio from March 7, 2012, Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Hearing
on Senate Bill 799 at approximately hour 3 of the audio.

Did Senator Bobby Zirkin delete Facebook postings asking about Legislation that will be decided Monday on Last Day of Session?

The posts by Janis Sartucci shown below in the first image have now been deleted from Senator Zirkin's Facebook page.  

Senator Zirkin posted that he would be Tweeting updates during the last week of the Session.  On Monday, Senator Zirkin will be going into a Conference Committee to decide the fate of SB 460/HB 781 the legislation that could close loopholes in current Maryland law regarding sexual contact between teachers, coaches, volunteers and recreational program staff, and children. Senate Zirkin is the Chair of the Senate representatives on this 6 person committee.

This is what the Facebook page looked like yesterday.

Here's what the same Facebook posting looks like now.

Is it OK if a Coach has sex with your child?

On Monday, April 7th a Conference Committee of 6 Maryland legislators will meet behind closed doors to decide the fate of your child.  The question before them is should there be criminal laws in place that provide penalties for a variety of Persons in Positions of Authority if they have sexual contact with your child?

At issue is the definition of a Person in Position of Authority.  

Under current Maryland law only full-time teachers are covered by this law. 

Montgomery County has already seen a case where a criminal case was dropped when it was discovered that the coach was not covered by current law.  

Parents, are you comfortable with current law? Are you comfortable knowing that if your child is in the custody of a coach, volunteer, part-time teacher or recreational program staff person the Person in charge of your child can engage in sexual contact with your child? 

Here's who to contact about this bill now.  Remember, you only have 24 hours to have your opinion heard by the legislators that will decide what happens to this bill.

bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us  

kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us


sam.arora@house.state.md.us

christopher.shank@senate.state.md.us

jim.brochin@senate.state.md.us

michael.hough@house.state.md.us

Senator Bobby Zirkin says just 6 people will decide if Maryland children deserve protection from coach/volunteer sexual predators

The Maryland House unanimously voted to protect children from sexual predators when they are Persons in Positions of Authority as in teachers (part-time and full time) coaches, volunteers and recreational program staff.  But, Senator Zirkin and other Senators wouldn't agree to provide that protection to children and the proposed legislation is now headed to a Conference Committee on Monday, April 7th.  Monday is the very last day of the 2014 legislative session, and the very last day for Maryland children to obtain protection from sexual predators.  

Senator Zirkin says just 6 people will not decide the fate of Maryland children. Those 6 people will make this decision without the public watching.  What will happen in the Conference Committee on Monday? 

Are Senator Jamie Raskin and Senator Brian Frosh (running for MD Atty Gen) lobbying this committee for a strong bill, or have they washed their hands of this legislation?

Guest Post: A 24 year- old volunteer basketball coach molested an adolescent after she took a position of a volunteer high school basketball coach in Montgomery County

We are concerned and disappointed that the Judicial Proceedings Committee, under the leadership of Senator Frosh, has refused to concur with House Judiciary's version of SB 460, Criminal Law -Person in Position - Sexual Offenses.  This means that protections for children will necessarily be weakened since the foremost opponent of the bill, Senator Bobby Zirkin, a defense attorney, has been assigned to be the chairman of the conference committee by Senator Frosh.  The other two Senate conferees are Senator Brochin who has previously supported Senator Zirkin's amendments last year regarding a similar bill and Senator Shank. 

Nevertheless, Senator Raskin predicted in the Gazette that a strong consensus for the bill will emerge from the conference committee.  However, a strong consensus is not the same as a strong bill for children and their parents.  Last session, Senator Zirkin,  sponsored an amendment on a similar bill that would have exempted part-time employees convicted of engaging in sexual contact, sexual act, or vaginal intercourse with students from the sex offender registry. He also sponsored an amendment requiring an eight year gap in age between victim and perpetrator  before a prosecution involving a position of trust could commence, and he created a new defense for perpetrators which had never before been in current law.  It is important for parents and others concerned with the safety of minors to let Senator Zirkin know that parents find these dangerous amendments unacceptable even in light of his threat to kill this important child protection measure.

Not only should we be alert to detrimental amendments that could be added to the bill at the last minute without a hearing on their merits, but parents should tell Senators Frosh, Zikin, Brochin  and Shank that they do not want them to reject reasonable and necessary  protections for children that have already passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously.

Sports or recreational facilities, or programs are  magnets for sex offenders whether or not they obtain their positions of trust supervising youth as volunteers or paid employees. Access to children is what counts.   For example, a 24 year- old volunteer basketball coach molested an adolescent after she took a position of a volunteer high school basketball coach in Montgomery County.  Therefore,  volunteers should not be stripped from the bill.  Nor should individuals under contract with sports and recreation programs and schools.

Also in jeopardy is a provision which allows prosecutors to charge both child sexual abuse, a felony, and a violation of the position of authority statute, a misdemeanor. If that provision is deleted, a child molester who is a educator could not be charged with child sexual abuse, which occurs on campus, if, at the same time, the teacher was charged for engaging in the same behavior with the same child off- campus off- time. This is only one of many unfair protections in current law which need to finally be eliminated.

As one national expert on sexual abuse/assaults in institutions which serve children stated, there is a clear empathy gap in certain individuals when it comes to protecting child and adolescent victims of sexual assault/sexual abuse.  This empathy gap still obstructs humane legislation  in the 21st Century.

How many Sandusky scandals among others does it take to make certain legislators understand that certain coaches can pose serious threats to children that must not be ignored? The focus of public officials should be on welfare of vulnerable children and adolescents and holding accountable adults in positions of public trust who use them for their own sexual gratification.

Of course, the conferees could take a progressive step by raising the current penalty from imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $1000 or both to the penalty that was originally drafted in the bill. That  penalty called for imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $1000.  It is hard to believe that this extremely modest penalty for what is in actuality child sexual abuse by a person in a position of public trust was rejected.  Egregious crimes should not be minimized by such disproportionate sentences.

We therefore need to immediately ask legislators on the conference committee and their respective chairmen to place children's interests first and foremost in their deliberations. That would be the right thing to do.  Killing the bill or weakening it any more would not be actions that are admirable or just.  If they weaken the bill or kill it we want to know why.


~Concerned Maryland Parents

And in this corner, standing up to protect children from sexual abuse...

The Maryland House of Delegates has refused to recede.

That is, they won't back down from the bill they passed to protect children from sexual abuse by teachers, part-time teachers, contract employees, coaches and recreational program staff.

The House has appointed their 3 representatives to the Conference Committee that will decide what happens to this bill.

For the House, Delegates Dumais, Arora and Hough have been appointed to the Conference Committee on this legislation.  (Dumais and Arora are from Montgomery County)

Will Maryland children win or lose when the Committee meets?

House	4/5/2014	3/29/2014	House Refuses to Recede	65
			Conference Committee Appointed	65
			Delegates Dumais, Arora, and Hough	65

Breaking: Sen Frosh Tells Senate to Reject House Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse by Coaches, Volunteers...

Earlier today Senator Brian Frosh presented Senator Raskin's Bill 460 to the full Maryland Senate and told them to REJECT the House version!

The House version includes part-time teachers under the bill and adds in coaches and volunteers.  The House wants to protect children from as many Persons in Positions of Authority as possible.

Why is Senator Frosh telling the Senate to REJECT maximum protection for children?

Listen for yourself to Senator Frosh (yes, the same one running for Maryland Attorney General).

Here is the audio from this mornings Maryland Senate session where Senator Brian Frosh presents Senator Raskin's Bill 460 and tells the full Senate to reject the House version.

MD Senate Refuses to Agree with House Protections for Children! Raskin's bill now goes to a "conference".

Well, here we are on Friday afternoon, April 4th.  The Maryland General Assembly ends this year's session on Monday at midnight. This afternoon we find out that the Maryland Senate is not willing to protect children from Persons in Positions of Authority with the same protections unanimously approved by the Maryland House.  

The Maryland Senate wants the House to back down from their position.  As the Senate refuses to agree with the House version of the bill, the bill now goes to a conference committee. 

Representing the Maryland Senate on the Conference Committee for this bill will be Senators Zirkin, Brochin and Shank.

As soon as we know the players for the House, we will let you know! 



Senate Refuses to Concur - House Amendments 60
Senate Requests House Recede 60
Conference Committee Appointed 60
Senators Zirkin, Brochin, and Shank 60

Updates here: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=sponpage&tab=subject3&id=Zirkin&stab=01&ys=2014rs

Maryland has three days left...to...close a loophole for sexual conduct with students

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland has three days left in its legislative session and as the state works to wrap up its budget, pass a minimum wage and medical marijuana and close a loophole for sexual conduct with students...

Coaches and part-time teachers
Sen. Jamie B. Raskin is confident a committee of conferees can iron out differences in bills that seek to further restrict adults from having sexual conduct with students.
Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park said his bill is headed for conference committee and he is confident members can reach a consensus before the session ends.
“I’m very optimistic we can come out with a strong consensus,” he said. “I think that after more than a decade of trying this will be the year.”
Maryland law criminalizes sexual contact between certain people who are considered to be in a “position of authority” and minors in their care. But the law is limited to principals, vice principals, teachers and school counselors, and it only applies to individuals who are full-time, permanent employees. It does not apply to part-time employees and coaches, substitute teachers or volunteers.
A 2012 case in Montgomery County illustrated the limit of the current law. A 47-year-old teacher and coach who was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old former student couldn’t be prosecuted because he was a part-time employee.

General Assembly heads into final days

March 26th Hearing on Senator Raskin's Sex Abuse of Students Bill

On March 26, 2014, the Maryland House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to review bills from the Senate side of the General Assembly.  Included in the bills reviewed was Senator Jamie Raskin's Senate Bill 460 - Criminal Law - Person in Position of Authority.  Senator Raskin appeared before the House committee to present his Senate version of this bill. 

This hearing also permitted public comment on these bills.  The purpose of the public comment was to speak to the House Committee about the differences between the Senate version and the House version of the bill. The House Committee hearings are videotaped.  

Here is the March 26th video of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Senate Bill 460.

Will the Maryland General Assembly do everything in their power to protect children when they are with teachers, coaches, and volunteers?

On March 26, 2014, the Maryland House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to review bills from the Senate side of the General Assembly.  Included in the bills reviewed was Senator Jamie Raskin's Senate Bill 460 - Criminal Law - Person in Position of Authority.

This hearing also permitted public comment on these bills.  The purpose of the public comment was to speak to the House Committee about the differences between the Senate version and the House version of the bill.     

House Judiciary Committee

Conform SB 460 to HB 781

Criminal Law – Person in Position of Authority – Sexual Offenses with a Minor

March 26, 2014

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on conforming Senate Bill 460 to House Bill 781.

My name is Janis Zink Sartucci and I am a member of the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland.

Is the proposed legislation important to Maryland children? That's the question that is before this Committee.

Since May of 2012 there have been 8 arrests of Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) teachers and staff on charges relating to the sexual abuse of students. One defendant was found not guilty on all counts and two defendants have yet to go to trial. All of the other cases have resulted in guilty verdicts.

And, then there is this September 2012 opinion from an Administrative Law Judge that was released as part of a Maryland State Board of Education Opinion (MD State BOE Opinion 12-34) that stated, "...MCPS continued for fifteen years to employ a teacher who had been found responsible for indicated child abuse."

These are real life cases of sexual offenses by Persons in a Position of Authority. We don't have to imagine what this proposed legislation is about, we have first hand, recent knowledge of incidences where students have been sexually abused by a Person in a Position of Authority. It's not a what if, it's real life.

The question before you today is how much do you want to protect children? Do you want to close loop holes or do you want to leave a few out there for future perpetrators? The House bill provides protection for children from teachers, part-time teachers, coaches, and volunteers. The Senate version of the bill only protects students from teachers. Why is the Senate willing to gamble that children will only be molested by full time and part-time teachers? Let's make the bill do it's job and protect children from all of the Persons in Positions of Authority that they encounter in their daily lives.

The 2014 legislative session is drawing to a close and will be complete before the upcoming trials of Montgomery County Public Schools teacher Lawrence Joynes take place. Mr. Joynes was denied bail and is currently being held in Montgomery County. You all probably haven't read the charging documents in those cases. I have. What is coming are two trials involving this MCPS teacher that have the potential for National media coverage as one of the trials involves the sexual abuse of 6 and 7 year old MCPS students in a MCPS classroom during the school day.

• One trial involves 10 counts of allegations of rape, child abuse and sexual abuse of an Eastern Middle School student over 2 years from 1991 to 1993 by MCPS teacher Lawrence Joynes. Mr. Joynes remained in MCPS classrooms for another 20 years.

• The second trial involves allegations of the creation of pornographic videos using 6 and 7 year old MCPS students in this MCPS teachers' music classroom during the school day. The Internet has created a whole new industry where videos of children can be photoshopped and turned into pornographic videos that are distributed around the world. Not only are our children now vulnerable to sexual abuse by Persons in a Position of Authority, but in addition, they are vulnerable to the manipulation of their photoshopped images that can become images of sexual abuse that are transferred around the world. There are 29 counts in this matter including allegations of child pornography and sex abuse of minors by this MCPS teacher.

These trials are scheduled to take place before the November elections. Will Montgomery County voters, State voters and the Nation see that when the Maryland legislature was in session our Delegates and Senators did everything in their power to provide the utmost protection for children, or will they see that the legislature left Maryland children vulnerable to more loopholes that allow Persons in a Position of Authority to sexually abuse them without the maximum criminal consequences?

Are our children safe when they are in the custody of others? That's the question that will be on parents' minds when the trials of Lawrence Joynes take place. Will the Nation see that Maryland is doing everything possible to protect children from Persons in Positions of Authority?

Will Sen. Frosh Kill Bill with Maximum Protection for Kids?

Dear Senator Frosh,

As the Chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee you now hold the key to what will happen this year with regard to closing the existing loop holes in Maryland law with regard to sexual abuse of teens by persons in positions of authority.

The Maryland House passed a bill that would provide maximum protection for kids, the Maryland Senate passed a bill that would provide minimum protection. Will you support conforming the Senate bill to the House bill with maximum protections?

The differences in the Senate and House bills comes down to the differences in the definition of a person in a position of authority and penalties.

House bill: Person in position of authority would expand current law to include part-time teachers, coaches in recreational programs and volunteers.

Senate bill: Person in position of authority would expand current law to only include part-time teachers and penalties would be lessened.

Will your Committee take the amendments in the House bill and include coaches and volunteers as persons in positions of authority, as we know that in some cases coaches and volunteers may indeed be molesters?  Will your Committee take the amendments in the House bill to provide maximum penalties for offenders?

The House Judiciary Committee has already scheduled a public hearing for March 26th.  Will your Committee hold a public hearing on the House bill so that the public can weigh in on the differences in these bills prior to the next vote?

The Maryland legislative session is short and this year's session is moving toward conclusion.  Parents are watching to see if existing loop holes in current Maryland law will be eliminated this year, or if we must wait for a future legislature to stand up for maximum protection of our children.

Janis Sartucci

Guest Post: Do members of the MD Senate think that coaches never sexually abuse and sexually assault minors in Maryland?

The following is in response to Senator Karen Montgomery's e-mail to the Parents' Coalition suggesting that parents and child advocates come back next year to advocate for legislation that will protect students from sexual predators.
~~~~~

We note that Senator Montgomery mentions that any problems with Senate Bill 460 should be taken up next year.  She does not acknowledge that there will be hearings on cross filed bills where the public can petition legislators about significant problems with the Senate version of the bill. These problems can  be taken up in a conference committee this year.  She does not acknowledge that the House Judiciary Committee amendments provide far more protections than the the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (JPR) Amendments  in House Bill 781, Senate Bill 460's cross filed bill.  She does not explain why this must be the case. While it is true that Senators rightly deleted a proposed provision concerning the seven year gap and allowed  part-time employees to be penalized for the first time since 2006 after the Senate's JPR struck part-time employees from the House bill that year, a heinous case had to occur causing unnecessary harm to a 14 year-old before they would legislate a common sense provision. This child waited until it was too late.

Instead of following Senator Montgomery's advice to take up problems with the Senate's JPR amendments before the session ends, parents and other citizens concerned with the safety and protection of children should ask the following questions of the members of the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee including its Chairman, Brian Frosh, and the sponsor of SB 460, Jaime Raskin :

• Why must children and their parents wait until next year instead of solving these problems in a conference committee?  Why won't the Senate's Judicial Proceeding Committee agree to reconsider its decision to exclude necessary protections in HB 781 which passed the House 129 to 0? Does Senator Montgomery's comments reflect the views of Senator Frosh?   If so, will the Senator retaliate by refusing to go to conference and then kill the bill as the Senate's JPR did last year?

• What public policy demands the Senate's JPR refusal to conform SB 460 to an amendment in HB 781 which would allow prosecutors to charge child sexual abuse which is a felony as well as separately charge a violation of the Position of Authority (POA) law which is a misdemeanor when an educator violates both laws.   Was it to make sure that defense attorneys could pressure prosecutors to accept plea bargains to a misdemeanor rather than a felony? If an educator sexually assaults a child in school it is a felony.  If an educator engages in the same behavior with the same child off-campus off time, it is a misdemeanor. If an an educator commits both types of crimes, why does the Senate's JPR want to continue to prevent legitimate prosecutions of both crimes? 

• Why did the Senate's JPR refuse to conform SB 460 to an amendment in HB 781 that would have raised the current penalty from imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $ 1000 or both to the penalty approved by the House of Delegates, imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $1000.  Why does the Senate's JPR think that the current penalty is proportionate to this serious crime so that it cannot even be increased minimally?  Indeed, if the same criminal behavior is a felony in school, why should the Senate's JPR reward clever molesters or child rapists by permitting them to get away with a misdemeanor rather than a felony merely because of the location perpetrators choose to commit these sexual crimes?   This makes no sense.

• Why did the Senate's JPR refuse to include an amendment requested by the Montgomery County Board of Education to include administrators and Board members  who may not supervise a child, but may hold sway over a child because of their positions?

• Why did the Senate's JPR refuse to include those who work or volunteer in sports and recreational programs who supervise minors under the purview of the legislation as did the House of Delegates?  Do members of the Senate's JPR think that coaches, for example, never sexually abuse and sexually assault minors in Maryland?  Why have other states responded to the Sandusky case by strengthening their laws?  Why has the Senate's JPR ignored this case along with other cases in Maryland which prove that this is a child protection problem here in Maryland?  Mark Hartill, a foremost expert on sexual abuse in sports has stated: " If the sex abuse conviction of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky did one thing, it was to shatter the assumption that organized sports is an oasis where the well-being of children are always assured." Why doesn't his statement appear to have had an impact on the members of the of Judicial Proceedings Committee?

Wash. Post Letter: The best way to protect Md. schoolchildren from sexual predators

Monday, March 10, 2014
Maryland lawmakers are working to close a loophole in state law that gives a free pass to teachers and others in schools in positions of authority to sexually exploit students: Part-time teachers, coaches and volunteers cannot be prosecuted for sexual conduct with students who are 16 or 17 years old...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-best-way-to-protect-md-schoolchildren-from-sexual-predators/2014/03/10/dbe7c5f0-9ffb-11e3-878c-65222df220eb_story.html

Breaking: Senate Comm. Eliminates 7 Year Gap, Includes Part-time, Exempts Volunteers and (Gasp!) Live Streams Discussion and Vote #SB460

This afternoon the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee met in a Voting Session.  The Committee only live streamed the audio of the discussion and vote of one bill.  That bill was Senator Jamie Raskin's SB460 - Person in a Position of Authority.

We do not have the text of the amendments to this bill yet, but from the audio we hear that Senator Raskin's bill was amended to eliminate the 7 year gap.  The amendments also included part-time employees in the bill (this was the big loophole that has existed for years).

However, the Senate amendments exempt volunteers from coverage under this statute.  The House version of the bill does include volunteers.  The House version of this bill is slated to be voted on by the full House on Monday, March 10th.

Here's the audio from the live streaming of the discussion of Senate Bill 460 by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee today.

Will Senator Frosh turn ON the audio on Friday 3/7 to let public hear Committee Voting Session?

On Friday, March 7, 2014, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is once again scheduled to hold a Voting Session.

Once again the Committee is rumored (no agendas are posted in advance) to be discussing Senate Bill 460.  Last week, Senator Frosh turned OFF the audio feed so that the public could not listen to the discussion of Senate Bill 460.  Will Senator Frosh permit the public to listen to the discussion this week?