Key Points:

• Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials celebrated the signing of Senate Bill 1585

• The new law allows predators who are caught soliciting undercover officers to be charged with sex crimes

• Those convicted could face an average prison sentence of 10 years

Sen. Janae Shamp joined Republican lawmakers and law enforcement leaders from Pinal County to announce the signing of a bill that will impose stricter penalties on child sex predators.

The new law amends the definition of dangerous crimes against children to include offenses committed against adults who pose as minors. The law is intended to close what officials say is a loophole that allows some people convicted of child sex crimes to avoid prison.

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the law on April 18. The legislation, introduced as Senate Bill 1585, passed through the House and Senate chambers with unanimous approval.

Under the previous law, someone arrested for a child sex crime would likely only face a Class 3 felony and probation if they were caught during a sting operation talking to a law enforcement officer.

The new law would close the loophole and impose stricter penalties with an average prison sentence of 10 years, said Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller.

Miller and Shamp spoke at a press conference on May 13 along with Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple, and Apache Junction Police Chief Michael Pooley. Several other legislators from both chambers attended in support of the law.

Shamp didn’t celebrate the bill’s passage as a legislative victory or a political win, but as an opportunity to support “the children and the innocent voices that have been silenced by fear,” she said.

“It’s about the lives shattered by rape, sexual abuse, manipulation and trauma, all caused by disgusting predators who saw them as objects and not the innocent human beings that they are,” she said.

Shamp introduced the bill after the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office conducted two undercover sting operations earlier this year that resulted in the arrest of 20 adults who were suspected of luring children for sex acts.

However, a handful of those arrested only received probation because no actual children were involved. Miller said that a number of the other cases were still being processed.

“A lot of times, you have to prove intent. Did the person have premeditated intent to commit murder? Did the person knowingly or recklessly do something?” Teeple said. “We know what these perverts’ intent was. It was to do irreparable harm against children.”

The Apache Junction Police Department also took part in the multi-agency sting. Pooley said some of the suspects who were arrested traveled up to 60 miles from other parts of the Valley to meet up with children.

“We do operations like this, we end up arresting the same individual,” Pooley said. “The same individuals come into the same type of crime, and there’s only a certain amount of things we can do.”

With the passage of the new law, legislators and officials expressed confidence that those who target children for sex crimes will face harsher punishment and won’t take advantage of any more loopholes. 

“If an adult tries to lure a child for sex, even if that child is an undercover officer, they will face real consequences,” Shamp said. “No more hiding behind excuses, no more slipping through legal cracks.”