Polish gov’t backs tougher penalties for child sex abuse
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
15.05.2019 01:00
Poland’s government has backed tougher penalties for child sex abuse, including longer prison terms for pedophiles.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (right) and Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro (left) during a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Tuesday that, under a proposal adopted by his Cabinet, offenders convicted of pedophilia would serve mandatory prison sentences and that suspended sentences would not be used in such cases.
Under the new rules adopted by the government and awaiting approval by lawmakers, the maximum prison term for child rape would be increased from 15 to 30 years, with the minimum term set at five years.
Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told a press conference that the government wanted lawmakers to define minors as children aged 16 and under, instead of 15.
He also said that the government was seeking to abolish statutes of limitations for pedophiles.
Ziobro on Monday appointed a team of prosecutors to investigate events depicted in a new documentary about cases of pedophilia among priests, according to a spokeswoman for the National Public Prosecutor's Office.
The leader of Poland’s ruling conservatives, Jarosław Kaczyński, on Sunday pledged to bring in tougher penalties for pedophiles.
(gs)
Source: IAR