Dunleavy targets crime with 3 new bills

(The Center Square) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced three bills Friday that are part of of his People First Initiative.

The three bills address sexually-related offenses and victims’ rights.

“Alaska’s current laws do not provide appropriate protections for victims,” Dunleavy said in a news release. “That is unacceptable.”

The first bill creates a new crime called “patron of a victim of sex trafficking,” a Class B felony if the victim is under the age of 18 and a class B felony if they are age 18 or older. Sex trafficking also is reclassified from a sex-related crime to a labor-related crime.

The bill also upgrades patronizing a sex worker from a class B misdemeanor to a class A misdemeanor. If convicted, a person would serve 72 hours in jail for a first conviction and 20 days in jail if they are convicted a second time. A third conviction within five years would increase the charge to a class C felony.

A second bill creates a class C felony for sexual contact without force or without the threat of force. The contact could be directly or through the clothing, according to the governor’s office. The bill also would permanently revoke the license of a teacher convicted on possession or distribution of child pornography.

The state’s sex offender registry also would include people convicted of charges related to sending explicit images of a minor and misconduct involving a corpse if the bill passes and is signed into law.

The third bill would require defendants to give prosecutors 48 hours notice before filing a bail modification. The notification would give prosecutors time to notify victims, according to the governor’s office.

Hearsay also would be allowed at grand jury proceedings.

This “will also assist with the backlog created when grand juries were suspended due to COVID-19,” according to information from the governor’s office. “More than 30 other jurisdictions allow hearsay to be presented at grand jury.”

Allowing law enforcement officers to summarize testimony will result in less trauma to victims, according to Blaze Bell, a victim rights advocate.

“On a personal note, as someone who has experienced navigating the criminal justice system as a crime victim, I am deeply grateful to see the increase in victim focused trauma informed actions in both grand jury options and victim notifications,” Bell said in a statement. “These changes bring me great hope for our community and my fellow survivors.”

The bills will be assigned a number when they are read on the floor, according to Shannon Mason, Dunleavy’s deputy press secretary.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square