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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. |
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Preston introduces 'Caylee's Law'
HARRISBURG, July 22 – Prompted by the public outrage over the Casey Anthony verdict earlier this month, state Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. today introduced legislation to be known as "Caylee's Law" to ensure that parents or guardians notify law enforcement in a timely manner when a child goes missing or dies.
Preston said H.B. 1799 would do the following:
o increase the penalty for "concealing the death of a child" from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony (punishable by a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and up to $15,000 fine).
o establish a first-degree misdemeanor offense of "failure to report death of child" (punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to $10,000 fine). This offense also would require parent, legal guardian, or anyone else supervising the welfare of a child to report the death of the child to law enforcement within 12 hours after discovery.
o establish the first-degree misdemeanor offense of "failure to report missing child" (punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and up to $10,000 fine). It also would require the parent or guardian to report a missing child to law enforcement within 48 hours.
"Two weeks ago, I announced my intention to introduce legislation to this effect and after numerous discussions with our drafting attorneys, I believe we have developed a quality response to help prevent this type of situation from happening in Pennsylvania," said Preston, D-Allegheny.
"Because this case has generated such an overwhelming interest from people across the Commonwealth, I am hopeful that the House Judiciary Committee will hold public hearings on my legislation," he said.