Nevada OKs Penalty for Witnesses Who Don’t Report Child Abuse
Adults will have to tell police if they witness child abuse or they will face six months in jail under a “Sherrice Iverson” bill signed Friday by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn.
Most family members would be exempt under the bill named for the 7-year-old California girl who was strangled in a Nevada casino restroom. The only exception would be if a parent were the abuser. Then, the other parent would be required to report it to police.
The bill sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Perkins (D-Henderson) was prompted by David Cash’s failure to notify authorities after witnessing his friend Jeremy Strohmeyer struggling with Sherrice in May 1997.
Strohmeyer, 19, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping and sexual assault charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Cash, who said he saw the beginning of the assault but did not intervene or report it to police, could not be charged under Nevada law at the time.
The exception for most family members was made after legislators warned that a mandatory reporting requirement could tear families apart.
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