A bill set to strengthen existing penalties associated with first-degree sexual assault went before members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy, Monday morning.
Assembly Bill 708 would change the current law from a maximum of 40 years imprisonment to allowing the courts to rule a life sentence without parole for some of the most heinous sex offenses.
The bill's author, state Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, said sex offenders carry high repeat-offense risks, something this proposal would aim to correct.
There is such a likely occurrence of recidivism among the person committing the crime because sometimes if it's a burglary or car theft, a person can say, ‘Okay, I'll stop doing that and … may be able to turn a corner in his life,'\ Wieckert said. ""But a repeat sex offender has a 400 percent increased likelihood of committing the same crime as a member of the normal population of people who commit crimes.""
He added that even though the cost to incarcerate an individual is $26,000 dollars a year, the benefit to safeguard society outweighs the financial costs involved.
""That's expensive but it's worth the price,"" Wieckert said.\
