Attorney general seeks more security in casino arcades

Jennifer Coleman

Wednesday, April 7, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Skeptical state senators say a bill to require more security in casino arcades, sparked by the murder of Sherrice Iverson in southern Nevada, may be unenforceable.

SB513 was requested by Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and comes nearly two years after the 7-year-old was left unattended in a casino arcade where her killer, Jeremy Strohmeyer, began playing with her.

"We're trying to reduce the chances another child will be harmed while in a casino arcade," Deputy Attorney General Anne Cathcart told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The measure also requires more security and would prohibit children in arcade areas during late-night hours. But it has many exemptions, prompting Judiciary members to question whether any of the proposed law could be enforced.

Among the exceptions to the curfew are children accompanied by a parent, staying at the hotel with parents, traveling between two states with consent of parents, or in the game room prior to 1 a.m.

"This bill wouldn't even cover Sherrice Iverson. She was traveling, she would have fallen under one of these exceptions," said Judiciary Chairman Mark James, R-Las Vegas. "How could you enforce this? In a room full of children, how could you tell who's traveling between states or who was here before 1 o'clock?"

James and Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, said the bill attempted to legislate what should be a parental issue.

"The bottom line is: Where are the parents?" asked Porter.

James said casinos should have to take reasonable safeguards, but that "there are certain things government can't do."

"Are we supposed to be not only Big Brother, but big mother and big father too?" he asked.

James called the measure poorly written, but said he'd consider the provision requiring casinos to install security cameras or hire security personnel for the arcade areas.

In related action, Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, outlined proposed amendments to AB267, a bill to require people to tell police when they believe a child is being treated violently or sexually abused.

The bill, also stemming from the Iverson murder, was criticized earlier as a possibly unconstitutional proposal that could backfire on law enforcement.

The bill initially applied to cases involving anyone younger than 18. Buckley proposed dropping the age to 10. The idea is to get around a concern that lawyers might have a tougher time getting witnesses to testify in court if they hadn't come forward immediately.

Assemblyman Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, introduced the bill. He said that while Strohmeyer got life in prison, his friend, David Cash, saw the beginning of the attack on Iverson but didn't report it. He also wasn't prosecuted, because Nevada doesn't have a law requiring him to do inform police.