"Stopping the horror of rape and dealing with the victim has to be addressed in New York State," stated Assemblyman Tom Alfano in a press conference held to urge passage of the "Serial Rapist Sentencing Bill."Recently, Assemblyman Tom Alfano and Assemblyman John Ravitz along with numerous members of the legislature urged the state Assembly to pass legislation to deter serial rapists by mandating increased penalties.

The bill passed the New York State Senate unanimously.

The bill addresses the problem of serial rapists who strike time and again against different victims. It also provides that convictions for rape against different persons will be treated separately. In a rape charge it is customary to charge each incident as a separate count, even when the charge arises from a single incident against one victim. The Ravitz-Alfano bill targets the rapist who, over an extended period of time, attacks different victims on different occasions.

New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir lauded the legislation noting, "Serial rapists can create an intolerable atmosphere of fear and anxiety across entire neighborhoods. We must do our best to ensure that these predators receive the kind of sentences their brutal act deserves. We have long supported a comprehensive approach toward longer sentences for violent felons and the abolition of parole all together. I believe this bill represents a valuable step towards increasing the level of public safety for all New Yorkers."

As a member of the powerful Assembly Codes Committee, Alfano has publicly called for a vote of the "Serial Rapist Sentencing Bill." Alfano is one of only two Long Island Assembly members to sit on the committee.

Assemblyman John Ravitz, who represents a portion of Manhattan's Upper East Side, which has been terrorized by a serial rapist since 1994, has collected over 10,000 signatures from residents throughout the New York State in support of the legislation.

Alfano noted what the current law currently holds for communities that deal with a rapist, "The big crime in New York State is the fact that current law permits judges to issue sentences that run concurrently rather than consecutively. Thus, it is possible that a serial rapist could be convicted of multiple counts of rape against different victims, receive a total prison sentence of three to six years, and be eligible for parole in as little as three years. We have to stop this now."

Assemblyman Alfano also shared some statistics on rape recidivism collected by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault:

1. Released rapists are 10.5 times as likely as non-rape related felons to be re-arrested for rape. Those who have served time for other sexual assaults are 7.5 times as likely as those convicted of other crimes to be arrested for a new sexual assault;

2. 25 percent of a New York profile of released sex offenders had a previous arrest for a sex crime;

3. Those with a prior history of arrest for a sex crime were twice as likely to return for a new sex crime as for other offenses.

"The statistics cast a sobering viewpoint on rape," said Alfano. "We need to make sure that those who commit these heinous acts are punished to the fullest extent of the law." Alfano also pointed to research performed by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault on the root causes of recidivism by noting that convicted rapists discharged from state prisons are likely to have served on average about half of their sentences, or five years. Those convicted of other sexual assault crimes and discharged from state prisons are likely to have served an average of just less than three years, or about 41 percent of their sentences. "When convicted rapists serve only 41 percent of their sentences and are let back out on our streets - no community is safe," said Alfano.

Assemblyman John Ravitz stated the need for the bill that has passed the New York State Senate unanimously, "By mandating consecutive sentences for each rape conviction, this legislation would ensure that the serial rapist serves an appropriate punishment for each count -- for each victim" Ravitz concluded.