NEW HAMPSHIRE
Seacoast Online
Editorial
We are hopeful a New Hampshire House committee will do the right thing and reject a bill that would make it more difficult to prosecute people charged with sex assault.
The legislation calls for a higher level of proof than other crimes for a heinous offense that is already underreported because of the pain it causes victims to come forward and testify. House Bill 106 states “that a victim’s testimony in a sexual assault case … requires corroboration only in cases where the defendant has no prior convictions for sexual assault.”
That is outrageous.
No one is in favor of anyone going to jail or having their reputation damaged for a crime they didn’t commit. However, this bill offers sexual abuse suspects a special shield from prosecution.
Sgt. Sean Ford of the Concord Police Department testified at the Statehouse on Tuesday and summed it up perfectly: “It’s really nothing short of the nation’s first pedophile protection act,” he said, according to an Associated Press report on the hearing that drew a large crowd to Concord.
State Rep. William Marsh, R-Wolfeboro, is the sponsor of the bill. His argument is people are perceived as guilty as soon as they are accused of the crime and he points to the 2016 aggravated felonious sexual assault conviction of Concord psychologist Foad Afshar, who is serving 3 to 6 years for touching the genitals of a 12-year-old child during an appointment. Marsh argues Afshar was convicted with little evidence other than the victim’s word and says the case could mean psychologists and psychiatrists may hesitate to treat children in the future.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.