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Noting differences in sentences for intra- and extra-family sex abuse

By Douglas A. Berman

This local article from Minnesota, headlined "Justice is unequal in sex abuse: Those who molest family members get lighter sentences than outsiders, data show," documents a sentencing story that I suspect is not uncommon in most jurisdictions.  Here areis how the effective (and long) article starts: A young woman in Hennepin County accuses her father of sexually abusing her since she was 12 and impregnating her at age 18. A 13-year-old Ramsey County girl tells a school counselor that her father had been touching her while her mother was in the hospital. A 15-year-old Anoka County boy reports to police that his stepfather, convicted of a sex offense years earlier, committed sex acts with him, once in exchange for help with a video game. In each case, Minnesota sentencing guidelines called for a seven-year or 12-year prison sentence...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 05, 2009 (boomark / email).