Just hours after new charges of indecent exposure were aired against a convicted child rapist set for release, Gov. Charlie Baker has filed legislation that would keep repeat child predators in jail indefinitely.
Baker is asking the Legislature to create a new classification of crime for multiple child rapes with a mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole.
Admitted rapist Wayne Chapman was found no longer sexually dangerous by psychologists and was set for release from civil custody when he allegedly exposed himself while in prison last week.
“Serial child predators should be behind bars for the rest of their lives, not out in our communities,” Baker wrote in a statement Thursday.
Baker's bill would require a full hearing by a court to resolve disputes over whether a sexually dangerous convict should be released from civil custody - regardless of whether or not they've completed their sentence.
“We need to revisit the kinds of sentences that give serial rapists of children like Wayne Chapman the chance to be released and reoffend,” wrote Secretary of Public Safety and Security Daniel Bennett.
“Violent offenders who repeatedly prey on children should be sentenced to life in prison and not to shorter terms," Bennett wrote.
Baker wrote he looks forward to working with lawmakers to pass the bill into law soon.
