A new bill that would bolster Wisconsin's child pornography laws was put before the Committee on Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Wednesday, and according to state legislators, it will most likely pass into law very quickly.
State Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford and co-author of Assembly Bill 942, said the proposal would strengthen the state's existing laws.
'What the bill does is create a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for possession of child pornography and a mandatory minimum of five years for distribution of child pornography,' Suder said. 'It also increases the fine for possession of the pornographic images of children.'
State Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, said the proposal would potentially put child sex offenders in prison for up to 40 years.
'There is a surcharge of $500 placed on the individual, in addition to other fines, loss of freedom and imprisonment,' Roessler said. 'There are serious consequences to the child, potentially physical, and certainly mentally.'
According to state Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, a presentation on sex predators on the Internet by the Department of Justice spurred her to take action on the fight against child pornography.
'We're threatening them with the legislation, 'You do this, then you will go to jail,'' Jeskewitz said. 'Moms and dads need to be very aware of this, and they've got to watch their kids on the computers.'
Suder added that the child pornography statistics are alarming, especially in regard to the rising influence of the Internet.
'One in five children between the ages of 10 and 17 have been solicited for sex online in the past year. One in 17 children were harassed or threatened online,' Suder said. 'Seventy-seven percent of the youths that are targeted by these predators are under the age of 14.'
Suder added that since 1996, online sex cases have increased more than 2,000 percent. According to Robert Christensen, a local Madison attorney, the government's former policy combating child pornography was to eliminate the market.
'It was the same rationale for the war on drugs: If there's no market, then there won't be any production,' Christiansen said. 'There will always be a market for drugs, there will probably always be a market for pornography.'
AB 942 has yet to hear any criticism, which lawmakers said leads them to believe the bill will have no trouble passing, pending the governor's approval.
