MOSCOW, March 14 (RAPSI) – A Russian parliamentary committee has approved a bill which would authorize courts to sentence first-time pedophiles to life in prison, the chairman of the committee said Thursday.
The State Duma Committee on Family, Women, and Children approved the bill Thursday, which would allow life imprisonment for first-time offenders if their actions led to serious injury or the death of the victim, said Olga Batalina, one of the sponsors of the bill.
Presently pedophiles may be sentenced to life imprisonment only if they are repeat offenders, in which case they may also face chemical castration. First-time offenders currently face a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars, even if their actions led to the death of a child.
The federal law on pedophiles was toughened in February 2012, when then-president Dmitry Medvedev signed a law increasing the maximum sentence for recidivist pedophiles to life in prison and chemical castration. The law also prohibited probation for offenders who have sexually abused children younger than 14 years old.
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