Nashville, Tenn.–State Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, has filed legislation which would require a defendant convicted of a sexual assault against a child under the age of 13 to undergo chemical castration as a condition of parole.
Rep. Griffey said the bill is similar to that passed by the Alabama legislature last year and signed into law by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in June.
“Chemical castration reduces or eliminates the chance of sexual offenders re-offending and has been used for the last 75 years. Ten other states have passed legislation to provide for chemical castration of child molesters/rapists, and, if my bill is passed, Tennessee would become the eleventh state,” Griffey said. According to Griffey, the other states are California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin and Alabama.
“This bill is about protecting children and doing something to prevent them from becoming prey for convicted child sexual predators. According to research by David Finkelhor with the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse,” Griffey said. “Additionally, 35% of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of 11. We need to do more to prevent this from continuing to happen, and chemical castration is one step towards doing so. As an Assistant District Attorney, I prosecuted a child sexual abuse case, and I have seen first hand the trauma and long-term scarring suffered by a child victim of sexual assault. It is horrific, and I want to do everything I can to prevent children from becoming victims of pedophiles.”
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