Protecting Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault

Today, I testified in support of my legislation House Bill 1528, which will allow evidence of a defendant's past acts of sexual misconduct to be admitted in a criminal trial where a defendant is charged with sexual assault.  Under current law, prosecutors are prohibited from mentioning a defendant's previous convictions or accusations of sexual assault.  House Bill 1528 is designed to support victims of sexual assault by allowing evidence of prior sexual misconduct to be heard by the judge and jury.  It is wrong to allow a victim's sexual history to be part of a sexual assault trial while excluding a perpetrator's history of sexual violence.  House Bill 1528 will modernize Maryland criminal law and make it consistent with federal, California and Louisiana laws that allow evidence of a defendant's prior sexual assaults to be admitted into evidence.  READ MORE.