Rep. Angela Rigas voted in favor of House Bills 4120-24 meant to improve punishments against sexual predators and increase protections for their victims.

“When we look at the Larry Nassar situation, it brought to light several areas where our state laws are lacking,” Rigas said. “Too many women have had to face the fear of reporting sexual assault and too often they feel unarmed and alone.”

House Bills 4120-24 would:

• Distribute training materials to mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect.
• Prohibit people in professional positions of authority from using their authority to prevent others from reporting criminal sexual conduct or child abuse.
• Require the permanent loss of a medical license for anyone convicted of sexual misconduct under the pretext of medical treatment.
• Provide sentencing guidelines for physicians intentionally failing to maintain medical records for certain invasive procedures.

“The hope here is to empower victims to stand up for themselves by making it clear that no matter who they speak to, those conversations are going to be legally protective of the victim from now on,” Rigas explained.

“These monsters thrive in the dark, I hope now more people feel free to turn on the lights.”

The bills were voted through the House and are now referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary for further consideration.

Rep. Rigas can be reached at (517) 373-1403 or AngelaRigas@house.mi.gov.