LANSING – Legislation sponsored by Representative Kate Ebli (D-Monroe) that will allow judges to grant Personal Protection Orders (PPO) to adult and child victims of sexual assault, who currently cannot access them, passed with unanimous support through the House Judiciary Committee today.
"It's unacceptable that Michigan residents who are the victims of these heinous crimes cannot receive the protection they need and deserve," Ebli said. "Just as criminals find new ways to threaten our residents, we need to strengthen our laws to ensure that we stay one step ahead and our residents don't become victims. This legislation will fill an important gap in Michigan's personal protection laws."
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Costello, who called for the change in the current law, and Melodie Brooks, Director of the Mercy Memorial Hospital Rape Crisis Center, testified before the committee on the need for the change in current law. Susan Harper, also of the Rape Crisis Center, testified about the personal impact the inadequacy in the current law has had for her. Ebli has worked for months with Judge Costello, prosecuting attorneys, and violence prevention and victim's advocacy groups to develop a comprehensive solution to the problem.
Ebli also was joined by Jerry Dorsey, a member of the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, in testifying before the committee in support of the legislation. Dorsey serves as the deputy chief of the Child/Family Abuse Bureau in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Dorsey testified that a problem with Michigan's existing Personal Protection Order laws is that they do not provide adequate protection to many victims of sexual assault. Currently, individuals can obtain a PPO only if they can show that the threatening individual engaged in two or more incidents that would be considered stalking, or if they can show that they have a qualifying domestic relationship.
Under Ebli's plan, courts will be permitted to issue PPOs to residents who have a reasonable apprehension of sexual assault from someone who is not a domestic partner. The legislation will cover actions such as posting threats and other messages on the Internet, furnishing obscene publications to minors and previous criminal sexual conduct against an individual.
"We are all having an incredibly difficult time in our community trying to come to grips with the current tragedy, which only further illustrates the need for crucial protections like these," Ebli said. "We need to update our laws so that we protect all victims. Seventeen other states have already enacted similar laws, and Michigan needs to do the same."