Beth Scaer of Nashua published a piece on GraniteGrok alleging that former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Clegg lobbied on behalf of persons who pay to rape children. The bill in question, HB 201, was introduced in December of 2018. Retained by the Committee in February of 2019, over the following 12 months, it was voted out of committee on November 15, 2019 and passed by the NH House of Representatives on a roll call vote of 316 to 55 on January 9 of this year, 54 of which were NH House Republicans and one lone Democrat.
Does Ms.Scaer lump those 54 Republicans into the pro-child-rape-for-fun-and profit category? Inquiring minds want to know.
That aside, I wrote Senator Clegg and asked him about the work his firm did with regard to HB 201 and this is his response:
Susan,
There’s a lot of misinformation being spread around FaceBook and it’s time to set the record straight.
HB 201 was the product of a sole-source, no-bid tax-exempt organization that actually receives almost $8 Million in taxpayer funds and distributes it to a number of other tax-exempt organizations organizations who trade the money for silence, letting the sole-source no-bid contractor to speak for them.
I want to thank Beth Scaer for bringing out the subject without full information so I have the opportunity and reason to do just that.
The legislature had just passed a bill increasing penalties and the experts from across the country came to NH to speak on the need to closely examine what they were advocating and to understand the unintended consequences. We were not opposed to the bill’s intent; however, as written someone viewing a minor removing their clothing in a public place would have fallen victim to the law regardless of how he or she happened to see it. For example, a person at a bachelor party who saw a stripper he knew to be 15 would be arrested for being there even though he reported the crime. Someone could pay to park their car at the beach, see a 5 year old change into a bathing suit and be hit with a class A felony. The issue was that there was no protection for those unwittingly saw a minor unclothed.
I include the expert testimony of those who have battled child sex trafficking since the Clinton years, it was THEY who we assisted in getting heard before the legislature. They are also considered national and international experts on the subject. They take the time to make NH laws better and enforceable. Please note the committee agreed with the experts and pushed the date forward to learn more.
I am proud to work to make child traffickers go to prison and I am proud to do it in a way that helps save children. I am also very pleased that a sole-source no-bid contractor has decided to get into the election process; she knows where I stand on a no-bid $8 million contract so I fully understand her need to support my opponent.
Melissa Broudo HB 201Testimony Jan 2019 Crystal (1)
I would suggest that Ms. Scaer ask the 54 Republicans who voted to oppose the increase in penalties whether they too are fer or agin paying for child rape.
Or maybe, she should simply ask why they opposed the bill that Senator Clegg’s clients opposed as well.