For pedophiles, life imprisonment without parole

Senator Andrew Lanza’s Bill, S.7257

There are moments when the justice system in New York fails so badly that it doesn’t just break your heart, it makes you question what justice even means. When someone sexually abuses a child, they do not simply commit a crime. They destroy a human being from the inside out. And yet, time and again, these predators walk out of courtrooms with slaps on the wrist, probation, or light sentences. And it has gone on long enough.

That is why Senator Andrew Lanza’s bill, S.7257, is not only welcomed, it is long overdue. The bill would impose life imprisonment without parole for those who sexually assault a child. Life. Because that’s what they’ve taken from their victims. There is no rehabilitation for a child molester. There is no meaningful reintegration for someone who has raped or exploited a child. These are not low-level offenses. These are acts of destruction and they deserve permanent removal from society.

You don’t have to dig far to find examples of how sickeningly lenient our system has been. In 2018, . . .a man in Troy, New York was convicted of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl over the course of several months. He was sentenced to just six years. In Buffalo, a 27-year-old man was caught in a sting operation attempting to meet what he thought was a 12-year-old girl for sex. He brought condoms. He brought gifts. He brought intention. He was arrested and later released on supervised release with counseling. And then there are the cases we don’t hear about. The children too afraid to speak. The cases thrown out on technicalities. The molesters who move from job to job, school to school, family to family, always staying one step ahead of being fully exposed. The survivors who never see a courtroom, let alone justice.

We spend more time debating traffic violations and plastic bag bans in Albany than we do enacting meaningful protections for the most vulnerable members of our society. That is unconscionable. If we cannot agree that a person who sexually violates a child deserves to spend the rest of their life behind bars, then what are we even doing?

S.7257 is not about vengeance. It is not about outrage for outrage’s sake. It is about removing dangerous people from the public forever. It is about finally sending a message that New York will not be a haven for child predators. That our laws will no longer favor clever lawyers and loopholes over truth and accountability.

There is no statute of limitations on the pain of a child who has been abused. There should be no expiration date on the punishment either.

The Legislature must pass this bill. The Governor must sign it. And every parent, every survivor, every person who believes in the sanctity of childhood should raise their voice until it becomes law. No more leniency. No more excuses. No more early release. If you rape a child, you forfeit your place in a free society. That’s not cruelty. That’s justice. And it is long past due.