Victoria to toughen penalty for child killings
December 05, 2007 11:05am
Article from: AAP
THE Victorian Government has introduced legislation creating a new offence of child homicide that reflects the seriousness of killing children.
Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said a spate of recent infant deaths had raised the question whether the laws covering the death of children were adequate.
He said the new offence would have the same 20-year maximum penalty as manslaughter but would underline that the victim was a child six years or under.
"Emphasising the vulnerability of the victim enables the courts to impose sentences that are closer to the maximum term in appropriate cases,'' Mr Hulls said.
"This new offence will ensure that the law will operate in a way that is more effective and responsive to community values and expectations and recognise that the killing of a young child is a distinctively serious form of homicide.''
The legislation, introduced to parliament today, also makes changes to other offences including doubling the maximum penalty for negligently causing serious injury, from five to 10 years' jail.
The legislation is expected to be law in the first half of next year.
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