Senate to Consider Stiffer Penalties for Mandated Reporters
The 34th Legislature’s Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety on May 6th will consider proposed changes to the penalties applied to “mandated reporters” who fail to report cases of abuse. The law currently identifies a number of individuals as mandated reporters, including health care workers, educators and school officials.
2022-05-05 21:44:47 - VI News Journalist
Bill No. 34-0225, sponsored by Senator Alma Francis Heyliger, seeks to amend Title 5, subtitle 2, chapter 201, section 2539 of the VI Code, which, in its current form, states the following:
“Any person, official or institution required by this subchapter to report a case of alleged child abuse, sexual abuse or neglect, or to perform any other act, who knowingly fails to do so, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
Under the legislation proposed by Sen. Francis Heyliger, the fine would increase to $1000 and maintain the potential prison sentence of up to one year. The legislation creates a new subsection that addresses the knowing failure of mandated reporters to escalate crimes of a more heinous nature.
“(b) Any person, official or institution who knowingly fails to report an offense committed under title 14 chapter 3A, §§ 133, 135, 136 or 137; chapter 23A; or chapter 24, §§ 7 506 (1) or 507 is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $5000 but not more than $10,000 or a term of imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than five years or both fine and imprisonment. A violation of this subsection is a crime of moral turpitude,” a draft of the legislation states. Those cited portions of the VI Code apply to the following:
Any offense outlined in 14 VIC 488-490
Physical abuse as outlined in 14 VIC 507
Aggravated child abuse as outlined in 14 VIC 506 Subsection 1
Human and/or sex trafficking as outlined in 14 VIC 133
Sexual Servitude as outline in 14 VIC 135
Patronizing a victim of sexual servitude as outlined in 14 VIC 136
Patronizing a minor for commercial sexual activity as outlined in 14 VIC 137
As the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Francis Heyliger said in a press release that mandated reporters provide a safe pathway to protection for many victims of abuse and that she intends to improve public safety standards by fortifying those avenues to safety.
“When it comes to our children, these most horrific acts affect the most vulnerable among us,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger. “The individuals, institutions and organizations, which the law deems as mandated reporters, have not only a moral and ethical responsibility to intervene on behalf of abuse victims, but a legal one.”
In September 2021, news articles alleged that a longtime track coach and school employee had raped multiple students over the course of 13 years. In November 2021, the Department of Human Services took over the Department of Education’s internal investigation of the matter when questions arose over whether school officials knew of the abuse complaints and failed to report it.