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Gallagher: Get tougher on some sex abusers

The gubernatorial candidate's public safety plan includes more prison time for child molesters in positions of trust.

TALLAHASSEE - Teachers, police officers, youth leaders, clerics and others in a position of trust who sexually abuse children should receive tougher sentences, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher said Tuesday.

The proposal was part of a public safety plan, which also includes ideas for a hurricane recovery volunteer corps and creating the Florida Office of Domestic Security and Preparedness to coordinate state and local agencies' handling of terrorist threats.

People in positions of trust who sexually abuse children would be charged with a first-degree felony and wouldn't be able to use consent as a defense.

"When a teacher, youth leader, religious leader or public safety officer sexually abuses a child, they destroy the child's trust in the people and the institutions that should be a source of support and protection for them," said Gallagher, currently Florida's chief financial officer.

He also called for a program allowing residents to receive e-mail notifications if sexual predators move to their neighborhood, as well as a $5,000 reward for people who turn in sexual predators who have failed to let authorities know where they're living.

He called for the Legislature, not the state Supreme Court, to have the final say in rules that govern criminal cases. That would require a constitutional change.

"Judges are meant to be umpires, they should not be writing the rules of the game," said Gallagher, who cited the court's striking down of a law that would have speeded up death penalty appeals.

Gallagher also suggested that prosecutors be allowed to give rebuttals to defense closing arguments and called for criminal trial evidence to be kept from the media before courts hear the cases.

"Criminal cases should be decided in the courtroom, not on 24-hour news channels," he said.

Gallagher is running against Attorney General Charlie Crist for the Republican nomination. The Crist campaign didn't immediately respond to Gallagher's proposals.

Democrats running for governor include U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and state Sen. Rod Smith.

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]