General sexual abuse laws in each state protect the public from being subjected to threat, harm, or kidnapping. When sexual abuse is forced on someone, the law is more harsh from state to state. Additionally, if a person is hurt or killed in the midst of the molestation, it is treated as a capitol crime in court.
Sex crimes that are violent result in the loss of freedoms for the culprits that commit them. Most states make it mandatory that all sexual molesters report to an agency to make their status public. Once someone commits a sex crime, they are labeled for life. This was an improvement in the law that supports prevention. Reporting is geared toward deterring future or repeat offenses from occurring. They also make communities aware of the type of people living in the area.
Molestation is a crime protected by the laws governing sex crimes. Molestation involving women are often treated differently than molestation involving children. Both instances are important priorities within the justice system. Abuse laws in some states require that in child molestation incidents, police and other authorities be contacted immediately.
This is required of all those with knowledge or information of the situation including, parents, family, teachers, counselors, social workers, and law enforcement. Most states include a time frame for these individuals to come forward with the information for an abuse case to be honored. Sex crimes committed by someone who has already committed the crime in the past, are treated to the fullest extent of the law.
The biggest problem with the law in regards to abuse is that many of the cases are never finished. Cases go cold for many different reasons. They sometimes lack important information that is essential to proving that a crime was committed. Victims get scared and back out of trials because they fear they will be harmed again by someone associated with the molester.
The worst case is when the crime is reported too late, resulting in no consequences being issued to the culprit. Laws that protect people against sex crimes offer strict consequences, they just have to be reported correctly to work in a victim’s favor. The laws have expanded over the years, providing more distinctions between different sex crimes, and clearer steps needed to protect people from them. Hopefully with this increase in legislation, cases will be finished, and those committing such crimes will be prosecuted.