Lawmakers break deadlock on Iverson bill

Friday, May 28, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A second Senate-Assembly conference committee broke a two-day deadlock Thursday on the so-called Sherrice Iverson bill that requires reporting of violent and sexual crimes against children.

Both the Senate and Assembly still must approve the recommendation of the conference committee. Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, who sponsored the bill, called the compromise a "step in the right direction." He added, "We'll see how it works and if there needs to be a change, we will be back in two years."

Assembly Bill 267 requires a person to report to law enforcement a violent or sexual offense against a child of 12 or younger. Failure to report could result in a misdemeanor charge.

The Senate wanted to exclude families from criminal penalties for not reporting an offense by another family member. The Assembly favored no exemption for the family.

The first conference committee failed to agree to any compromise on Tuesday.

The second committee met early Thursday and appeared at an impasse.

Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, said the Assembly version would make a parent a criminal if he or she didn't inform on a child. "You're criminalizing their behavior," he complained.

He was backed by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, who said common sense should be used in these cases. "You're starting to pit family members against each other," he said.

Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, replied, "It seems like we're saving them from each other."

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said ,"In most cases where the child is molested and raped, it's in the family," in urging against the Senate amendment.

When it appeared they were hopelessly deadlocked, Buckley suggested a change that all sides eventually agreed upon. The bill would require a parent to report a crime if the other one is sexually abusing or harming the child. The parents, however, won't face criminal charges if they don't report an offense by their child.

The reporting requirement won't apply to someone under 18. The Assembly originally limited the exemption to those under 16 but agreed with the Senate to boost the age.

The offense must be reported as soon as "reasonably practicable" but at least within 24 hours.

The bill was named after 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson, who was raped and killed in May 1997 at the Primm Valley hotel-casino in Primm near the California-Nevada border.

She was playing in the arcade when she was lured into the restroom by Jeremy Strohmeyer who later pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. His companion, David Cash, knew about the assault, but never reported it to authorities.

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said there was no law that allowed him to prosecute Cash, who was roundly criticized for his failure to notify police.

Buckley said the compromise is not as far as the Assembly wanted to go. But she said it was a start. And it saved the whole bill, which would have died if an agreement had not been reached.