Fight against teen pregnancy focuses on adult males

Wednesday, April 19, 2000 | 9:38 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- One way to fight teenage pregnancy may be to strengthen the laws against adult men having sex with underage girls, a legislative committee was told Tuesday.

Nevada has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation, but it is dropping.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, said it has been disturbing to him that three-quarters of the fathers of the babies of teen mothers are adult males.

"Yet the emphasis is on teens," he said, referring to programs available.

"They (the girls) are being preyed upon," he said at a meeting of the Legislative Committee on Health Care.

Theresa King, an outreach worker for the teen pregnancy prevention program for the Economic Opportunity Board of Clark County, suggested tougher enforcement of existing laws.

King did not appear, but her testimony was presented to the committee. She said there should be enforcement of the statutory rape laws already in existence.

"We need to send a clear message to these 24-to-30-year-old men that it is absolutely inappropriate to solicit young girls for sex and that they (the girls) cannot give their consent," she said.

King said district attorneys should not refuse to prosecute the cases.

She added that some people would like to see the age of consent raised to 18.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa suggested enhanced punishment for defendants convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 14. The law would be changed to prohibit adult sex offenders from using the defense that a child under the age of 14 consented to having sexual intercourse.

Del Papa, whose testimony was read by Deputy Attorney General Matthew Dushoff, said the proposed law would make a person having sexual intercourse with a child under 14 guilty of sexual assault.

State Health Administrator Yvonne Sylva told the committee progress has been made in reducing the rate of teen pregnancies. Figures supplied by the Nevada Public Health Foundation showed the pregnancy rate dropped from 58.9 in 1,000 girls aged 15-17 years old in 1995 to 48.7 in 1998.

Sylva said efforts must be increased to attack the problem.

Ironically, as the teen pregnancy rate has fallen in Nevada, the state has moved into the top place nationally.

"The state's improvement has not kept pace with other states," the health foundation said.

Sylva said the goal of the state Health Division is to lower the rate to 35 per 1,000 for teens 15-17 years old by 2005.