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Law Allows Drug Dealers, Sex Offenders and Armed Robbers to Receive Light Sentences in Family Court
Assemblyman David DiPietro [at podium] poses with a group of lawmakers at today’s press conference in Albany to repeal “Raise the Age”.
At a press conference in Albany Thursday, Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C-East Aurora) stood with a coalition of lawmakers and district attorneys calling for an immediate repeal of the “Raise the Age” law – a measure passed by Democrats in 2017 that allows violent felons and sex offenders to receive light punishment, or virtually no punishment at all, by automatically diverting their case to family court.
“New York is burning, literally, and radical progressives continue to empower their primary voting base – criminals – at the expense of frightened families across the state,” DiPietro said. “Calling this law asinine would be an understatement as liberals are content with vicious criminals and suspected terrorists getting a slap on the wrist for their atrocious acts. Albany Democrats are turning civilized society into something out of the Byzantine Empire or Wild West where whoever can get away with the most, wins. I will not stand for this and call for a full repeal of ’Raise the Age’ immediately.”
As a result of “Raise the Age,” most felony offenders are automatically prosecuted in family court as opposed to criminal court or the Youth Part of Superior Court; their record sealed as a result. This is leading to adolescents, who would otherwise be required to register as sex offenders, reoffending the next year at 18 years of age and being treated as a first-time offender when, in fact, they are serial criminals.
Assemblyman David DiPietro represents the 147th Assembly District, which covers all of Wyoming County and the southern portion of Erie County.