Rep. Geraldo Alicea Testifies in Support of Child Assault and Battery Legislation 

Bill Adds More Specific Language to Constitute Abuse and Increases Penalty

Representative Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton) testified Tuesday November 13th in strong support of legislation that increases the penalty for assault and battery on a child, and modifies the language to include more specific examples that constitute child abuse. 

“I believe that this piece of legislation is an important tool law enforcement officials would be able to use to continue to fight against the horrendous acts of child abuse that still occurs in our society,” said Alicea. “The legislation not only increases the penalty for those who are convicted, but also adds additional types of abuse as punishable with jail time.”

The legislation, Senate Bill 904, makes specific changes in the current law by amending the definition of bodily injury to include any cuts, bruising, and scratches, as well as any internal injury due to the presence of illegal substances. It then increases the maximum penalties for assault and battery resulting in bodily injury from a state prison term of 5 year to 10 years. 

The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and awaits the committees recommendation and release to the full house.