Last year, the Washington Post wrote about the heartbreaking story of a young girl who a family member molested. The prosecutors from the Office of the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney — over the objections of the victim and her family — reached an objectively inadequate plea deal with the perpetrator. He only received 17 years in prison and could be out on parole in just nine years.
He was eligible for a life sentence.
The situation was so gut-wrenching that the judge told the victim her “government had failed [her].”
Upon hearing this story, I was heartbroken for the victim and her family. Being a father and a husband is the most important job I’ll ever have. As the chief law enforcement officer for the commonwealth, the public’s safety is my most important mission, and I was determined to find a way to try and prevent this from ever happening again. Within days of my inauguration as attorney general, we worked with members of the General Assembly to introduce a piece of legislation to give children who have been victims of sex crimes a resource, should their local government fail to protect them.
A recent op-ed by former Del. David Toscano in the Richmond Times-Dispatch characterized the legislation as a tool to undermine “prosecutorial discretion” and local attorneys. I couldn’t disagree more with his characterization. As a former prosecutor, I understand the importance of prosecutorial discretion. Prosecutors are ethically bound to push for a sentence best supported by the facts of the case.
But that should never result in ignoring and not listening to a victim. No victim should feel that the criminal’s rights were put above theirs and their experience.
While I may disagree with my friends and former colleagues on the other side of the aisle on a litany of policy items, we should all be able to agree that child rapists are despicable, and victims of these horrific crimes deserve every opportunity for justice. When Virginians entrusted me to serve as their attorney general, I made a promise to always protect their interests and vigorously advocate for proven policies that lower crime and keep our communities safe.
Our efforts to ensure that victims are supported and criminals are prosecuted will continue, which is why I will work with members of the General Assembly to reintroduce commonsense legislation to allow my office to have original jurisdiction in prosecuting violent sex crimes against minors. My office already has original jurisdiction for a number of cases, particularly cases involving child pornography. This additional authority is a natural progression of existing law since, unfortunately, contact offenses are commonly found during child porn investigations. That’s why this legislation has broad support from Virginia’s law enforcement community.
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