Thursday, 07 April 2005

Alexander: Paedophile grooming initiative

Alexander delighted paedophile grooming initiative taken up We shouldn’t have to wait for a paedophile to violate a child before we act, United Future law and order spokesman Marc Alexander said today.

“For far too long we have had to sit back and wait until another child victim is created before we could step in and charge the predator,” he said.

“I am therefore extremely pleased that I have managed to persuade Justice Minister Phil Goff to add a new offence of sexual grooming to be added to the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) when Parliament debates the Bill's committee stage within the next few weeks.

“It’s great to be able to affect such an important new law that proactively prevents the creating of new victims, and I do congratulate Phil Goff for moving on it,” he said.

"It is an extension in the protection of our vulnerable young from sexual predators by covering situations where a person contacts or arranges to meet a child, with the intention of having sexual activity, whether or not the intended abuse occurs."

"The trigger will be a pattern of behaviour that would, if unchecked, lead to a sexual violation."

"It's important to criminalise this activity because new technologies such as Internet and cell phones have made it much easier for sex offenders to groom their intended victims undetected by normal safety precautions.

"Those sexual parasites who groom children for sexual activity will face up to seven years' imprisonment under the amendment to the Bill. Frankly they deserve no less."

ENDS

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