Bill Seeks To Punish Predators

If you've got children on little league or soccer teams or in any other type of youth organization you probably think it is safe to assume that the other kids on the teams or in the groups are actually kids. Recent events in New Jersey prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that that is not a safe assumption to make at all.

In 2008, a 23-year-old Burlington County man was accused of endangering the welfare of a child. It was also discovered that the man had impersonated a teen-ager to join at least two local youth organizations.

"He ultimately pled guilty to three counts of indecent sexual contact involving three different minors," says State Senate Phil Haines. "He met one of those minor victims at a church function."

Legislation sponsored by Haines to make it a crime for an adult to misrepresent his age in order to gain admittance into a youth group has unanimously passed the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee and now awaits a vote in the full Upper House. The bill makes it a fourth degree crime for an adult who impersonates a child under the age of 18, or in any way misrepresents himself as being under the age of 18 for the purpose of gaining membership to a youth servicing organization. It also makes it a crime of the fourth degree to assist another adult in fraudulently gaining membership to a youth organization.

"We have learned that these predators will stop at nothing in order to gain access to our children. This legislation takes an important step in protecting our youth from physical and psychological harm," explains Haines. "This pre-meditated, under-handed conduct is reprehensible. As state legislators, we have the authority and responsibility to provide local and state law enforcement agencies with the tools to punish these offenders severely."

A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

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