When Gov. Mike Easley signs the bill passed by the General Assembly yesterday, North Carolina will have some of the toughest child sex offense laws in the country.
The key provisions include a minimum 25-year prison sentence for adults convicted of raping a child younger than 13 followed by lifetime GPS monitoring if those convicted of child rape are ever released back into society.
The next thing to watch — assuming Easley signs — do local prosecutors in the coming years begin to shy away from lodging rape charges in cases involving young victims because the penalties are so great. Crazier things have happened.
