I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

Comments Document

Please see comments attached with testimony in support of HB 1523 and language amendments to strengthen the bill.

I'm a volunteer with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and I support this bill.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

NO- I do not support this bill! Excluding anyone is prejudice! Men/woman are working hard to change their life and you continue to strip all hope of that!

I ask that you vote "NO" to move to pass this piece of legislation into law. I feel that this is an unjust way of undoing the bill that was passed in 2020 by the previous administration to help unite families. Many inmates were given calculation sheets stating they were being released early due to the credit. Many of these families had prepared for them to be released only to find out the rug was pulled from under them at the last minute. It was absolutely cruel and disheartening not to destroy the hope and dreams of these families but now you want to ensure inmates do not receive any credit at all. Under the previous administration had this been a factor it would have never made it into law. I strongly feel that a lot is this undoing is financially motivated to line the pockets of politicians that have times to the prison system.

We should be giving incarcerated people an opportunity to better themselves in the process of working towards something that will significantly affect their future. Many of our incarcerated friends are serving ridiculously long sentences for something they did at a young age - the human brain doesn’t fully develop until a persons mid twenties. We’re talking about people who made mistakes at a young age who will never be able to show how they’ve grown - people should be given the opportunity to use our prison systems as they were originally intended: To rehabilitate and learn from their mistakes. Putting a restriction on who is able to earn their way back to a normal life is unfair and unjust

No! I’m against this bill

No. Stop this bill

No! PLEASE STOP THIS BILL

I hope you all will vote NO against this bill. My husband has been incarcerated 22 years since the age of 18. He went in as a immature kid. He has double stacked use of firearms with a felony and got 3 years each which gave a extra 6 years for his crime he already got 20 years for and has completed that "violent" time. Many have similar double stacked charges if not more for this same offense and it's not right! Please be VOTE NO FOR HB1603. Thank You!

I left a comment but the page shut down so I'm not sure if it was sent. I apologize if this is a duplicate. Please vote no to exclusions of earned time credits for the incarcerated. We need real rehabilitation not mass incarceration. These individuals are further traumatized by a broken system. When this bill was repealed it stripped hundreds of people of their right to freedom and plans they had made with their families for jobs, travel, weddings, and reunions. The lawsuits stemming from this will cost thousands of taxpayer dollars. Please reinstate what was already granted. People deserve the right to rehabilitate and earn good time. That's the whole point of the incarceration rehabilitation system is it not? By saying that inmates cannot earn good time, they're basically stating that their rehabilitation efforts are a failure. (Which they mostly are any way) take time to talk to prisoners about what really goes on behind the bars and walls of the prison system. The drugs are brought in by the guards. The guards are having sex with the inmates. There are drugs everywhere throughout the prison system, gangs, horrible violence, corruption. Inmates will not talk about what is really happening for fear of retaliation by both the institution and other inmates. We need an immense and complete overhaul of the department of corrections in Virginia. We need mental health treatment, substance use treatment and trauma treatment. Not further violence and solitary confinement and having them living in fear of being attacked 24/7.

Please vote NO on #1603. It would be so unfair to exclude persons.

I oppose this bill, for so many reasons! I believe everyone EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EARN ESC credits no matter what the crime is because it restores Hope encourages people to take classes and work hard to improve themselves and gives them some extra reasons to rehabilitate themselves! I also am a victim of a serious crime unfortunate the man that robbed me was never charged ! But if he was I would have agreed with him earning extra credits for turning his life around! This is bad Legislation … I’m not an attorney, but a lot of you are and I don’t understand how you don’t see that this bill would open up the opportunity for so many to file lawsuits against the state of Virginia and cost taxpayers millions of dollars!

I represent the Valley Justice Coalition and we strongly oppose this bill. According to the Impact Statement for HB1603, there will be a cost of over a half million dollars EACH year in preparation for the lawsuits the bill is expected to generate. Assuming the State will lose at least some of these lawsuits, this could eventually cost taxpayers millions of dollars. As your constituents, we are appalled that you have such little regard for taxpayers' dollars. Vote NO against HB1603.

I write to ask you vote NO on HB 1603. The bill as written would unfairly affect many people who deserve an earlier release than this provides. In particular, I note that in paragraph 18 it would reduce the available sentencing credits for ANY felony “involving a firearm” – regardless of the circumstances. This is far too broad and would unjustly deny many people a chance at earlier release who pose no threat to society. It is not unusual for someone to be charged with a felony “involving a firearm” even if the firearm was NOT part of the crime at issue but, for instance, simply located in a dwelling or car where an arrest took place. Moreover, there are still a good number of felonies that are based on marijuana that involve circumstances likely to be legal in the near future. Being incarcerated and having a loved one incarcerated is emotionally, mentally and physically damaging. The current Earned Sentence Credit Bill that is active and in place now, is fair. It already disqualifies violent offenders. Serving more jail time should not be the answer. Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. Alexis Laplace Woodbridge, VA 22192

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

Vote NO to HB1603! The Earned Sentence Credit bill was studied, investigated, vetted & debated twice and what came from that was a law with the ability to highlight those who have taken full advantage of all programs & requirements of their incarceration & EXCEL! The disgraceful budget amendment stripped enough away. It broke people’s hearts inside and outside of the prison walls, but now this is an attempt to further punish someone who is already serving their time honorably and have made valuable changes to themselves before they knew they could get ESC, and they deserve to be credited what they worked so hard for! Do you realize this makes prison less safe by continually excluding and taking things away from people who have EARNED their good time? It is not given to them, it is EARNED. Put yourself in their shoes for one second! Imagine working hard for no reason at all other than to benefit yourself, being promised you would be rewarded when you least expected it, and then watching quietly while it is snatched away from you! They have no voice right now, but I do! They are not the sum of their worst day but the product of learned lessons through life, maturity & growth achieved while serving their time. VOTE NO!

I absolutely and unequivocally DO NOT support this bill.

Hi

I think its appalling that you are attempting to take away EARNED sentencing credits from men and women who has done their fiduciary duties to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated. Lawmakers has got to stop singling out individuals based on their offenses and allow them to be seen and deemed rehabilitated for who they are today. The sentencing credits is not a point system given to an individual, it's a system that's earned through hard work, dedication and mindset changes in behavior over years of incarceration. I OPPOSE this bill that would attempt to remove the right for these men and women to receive credits they have earned by remaining infraction free and are not deemed a threat to public safety. Please vote NO for this bill of legislation.

ESC- is a bill that was give then pulled back at the hands of our government, our jails and prisons are overcrowded, understaffed and more over these men and women deserve to have the opportunity for less time after sentencing, DOC is the worlds second largest industry we are manufacturing Criminals more than all other countries combined yet we say we are the land of the free… I believe this bill will provide structure but also allow reduced sentences by credits earned Im in support of this bills it will not only help the incarcerated people but their families who suffer behind incarceration

Pleaae vote no. This isn't fair to no violent offenders who have rehabilitated and changed their lives completely. My husband has served nearly 25 years in the VADOC, and this will hinder his chances of coming hime early. Not everyone who receives a firearm charge is violent. If you review a lot of cases, you will see that sometimes, they were given a firearm charge because of a circumstantial event or the way the charges were filed. It's not always because they were violent people. This needs to be reviewed and reworded, if nothing else. Please, consider the people who deserve to go home, and the families that need them??? Please vote NO!??

NO

I cannot begin to express the level of intelligence and maturity of this individual but the fact that he has turned his life around speaks for itself he pushes nothing but encouragement, love, and peace into the world. I am humbly asking for his release as he does not deserve to be punished and persecuted in innocence. I can guarantee within his release he will have nothing but a heavy positive effect on those around him and the general community he deserves to live a normal life he deserves to work a job and be there for his children and grandchildren. He has served more than enough time of sufferation at the hands of the Virginia department of corrections when is enough, enough? When has a man paid his debt? Take my words and the fact that he has been reforming for the last 20 years from any negative habits or behaviors he once portrayed into consideration. Sincerely Anderson,

Vote NO to HB1603. VADOC's main goal and focus should be rehabilitation. Taking away the opportunity for incarcerated men and woman to earn reduced time for working towards being better is wrong. Some are actually taking the time to better themselves. Have families to come home to, children they have sadly missed important milestones, so many factors that make a person to strive to be better. No one knows what the full circumstances are when a person committed any crime. We as community members in the commonwealth need to be proactive in helping these men and woman get home where they belong. Let's also include the terrible language of this bill. Inmates have no access to firearms while in confinement, so where does that language apply? There ARE so MANY errors with this bill proposal. Also, you have majority of inmates who have mixed charges, so non firearm related charges are still eligible. OR does the 1 charge that is firearm related reduce to zero? I think there should be concrete clarification on all points of this bill. Until all things are clarified and written without any confusion this is a definite NO

Please Vote No & Do Not support this bill. Not all people who have been convicted are violent. It’s unfair to someone who has worked hard to turn their life around, to be denied a chance at early release..

I oppose this. I believe people deserve a second chance and should be rehabilitated so they can come home to their families

No

Thier are thousands of inmates that got a boat load of time they don't deserve, People can and do change their lives..

I DO NOT support HB 1603.

Please vote NO. If a person is behaving enough to earn good time they should be allowed to have it. Thank you

I would like you to vote no on this bill as taking away good time essentially takes away the hope of the imprisoned. It isn't ethical or right at all.

I'm writing to you all on behalf of my husband, Marcus Conrad Ingram, Inmate #1090850 in the Virginia Department of Corrections. Mr. Ingram has been incarcerated for over 17 years, having been sentenced to a total of 32 years for armed robbery with mace in 3 jurisdictions. Because he had mace, his charges of put him in the “violent offender” category, therefore he isn't eligible for Earned Sentence Credits yet, but I'm hoping this bill will be such that he qualifies. No one was seriously injured during the robberies, and while we agree that incarceration was necessary, 32 years is more than excessive. The sentencing Judge, Judge Weckstein, said he was going to “make an example of” Mr. Ingram, and sentenced him to 32 years. After his original sentence, Mr. Ingram’s lawyer filed a motion to reduce his sentence on 6/19/07, again outlining the conditions under which Mr. Ingram was suffering at the time of the crimes, to include major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse, ajd drug abuse. Mr. Ingram is extremely remorseful for his actions and can be a valuable member of society if given the chance. He's missed most of his children's lives and has certainly been humbled by his experience. He has employable skills, job offers lined up, and a stable home environment with me upon his release.

No!!!

Being the man home to his family

Please vote NO!!?? everyone deserves a second chance, and people change. Not all firearms charges are violent.

HB 1603. I’m voting no! If these inmates have been given “good time”, they should be allowed to keep it whether you stop adding to it or not. Some have worked very hard to try to get back to society, families and friends. Please don’t hinder the ones who are successfully going through their incarceration without incident! Thank you.

I think they should vote against this. This bill is hindering thousands of people from receiving their good time and getting them back home to their families whom miss and love them dearly!

Statistically speaking Virginia has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country. However incarcerated men and women, many who are black and brown, remain imprisoned under unfathomable conditions. Despite these circumstances these same men and women have worked hard to EARN their good time by staying infraction free, participating in programs, and overall changing their lives around. Please be a voice for the preferably unheard and recognize that HB 1603 is NOT the answer to curbing violent crimes involving firearms. Vote NO today!

My fiance got sentence to 5 years in prison. He will be out in 2025. I want him to get out early for good behavior. He hasn't been in any trouble since he been in prison. I need him out & give him a chance.

Comments Document

Attached you will find my speech that I hope you will consider prior to todays meeting. Thank you.

Please, vote NO!??? Not everyone convinced of a firearm offense is violent. To categorize them all as violent, is ridiculous, and unfair. There are thousands of families who need their loved ones home. There are thousands of men and women who have been over sentenced because of a firearm charge. Please consider the men and women affected by this decision. The families torn apart, the financial burden, the incarcerated individuals who have served 20, 30, and 40 year in the VADOC, who deserves a second chance, and deserve to be reunited with their families, but are hindered from doing so, because of the language, and labeling in this bill. Please ask yourself, if this is how you would want to be labeled and treated, if you made a poor choice as, a teenager??? ... Or if your son, daughter, or loved one was locked away with no hope for 30, 40, or 50 years. ESC was earned, and taking it away from people who have earned it, is unfair, unconscionable, and cruel. Please, let our loved ones have a chance to come home?? Thank you.

Not everyone convinced of a firearm offense is violent. To categorize them all as violent, is ridiculous, and unfair. There are thousands of families who need their loved ones home. There are thousands of men and women who have been over sentenced because of a firearm charge. Please consider the men and women affected by this decision. The families torn apart, the financial burden, the incarcerated individuals who have served 20, 30, and 40 year in the VADOC, who deserves a second chance, and deserve to be reunited with their families, but are hindered from doing so, because of the language, and labeling in this bill. Please ask yourself, if this is how you would want to be labeled and treated, if you made a poor choice as, a teenager??? ... Or if your son, daughter, or loved one was locked away with no hope for 30, 40, or 50 years. ESC was earned, and taking it away from people who have earned it, is unfair, unconscionable, and cruel. Please, let our loved ones have a chance to come home??

Please vote NO FOR HB1603 - we should be including more people to have the chance to earn their way home sooner! Prison is about rehabilitation and growing and learning from past mistakes, give our loved ones the chance to show that they’ve grown! It’s called EARNED sentence credits for a reason!!!

Hello, I am one of the founders and Executive Director of Ignite Justice, a local non-profit organization that works with incarcerated individuals and their families. I’m here today to ask you to vote no to House Bill 1603, which will amend and reenact the Earned Sentence Credit. Virginia consistently has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country. According to recidivism studies including ones conducted by the Virginia Department of Corrections, individuals with violent crimes as their most serious offense are far less likely to re-offend than non-violent. Earned good time credit can increase accountability and rehabilitation. It has been shown that incentives like increased earned good time, leads to increased participation in programs, which in turn further decreases recidivism rates and increases safety at correctional facilities. It is difficult to remain infraction-free inside of these prisons and they have done that. This is earned good time. Earned good time credit can increase accountability and rehabilitation. In my over 10 years of experience working with incarcerated individuals, I have learned that people are capable of great change. The men and women who will be affected by this bill, have shown that they have changed. They have worked hard to rehabilitate themselves and to come back into society. I have seen men and women who served their time come home and make a deep impact in their communities, working to prevent the next generation from following the same path. These are the types of men and women we are keeping inside of prisons by passing this bill. This bill is purely punitive. Again I’m asking this committee to vote no to this bill. Thank you, Jennifer Dalton Founder/ Executive Director jdalton@ignite-justice.org 804-485-3314

My husband is incarcerated for a robbery charge in which nobody was hurt and no weapon was involved but because it is a robbery charge he is excluded and considered a violent criminal. Our 16 year old son and only child was murdered over the summer and this is some thing neither my husband or I should be dealing with alone and away from each other. I need my husband home with me. He has remained out of trouble and done what he is supposed to be doing. And I can speak from both sides and I can tell you right now the person who killed our son if he does his time changes his life for the better and feels remorse then I am absolutely okay with him being let out earlier if he has done everything he is supposed to do and earned that chance. People change just like people make mistakes and learn from them.

My name is Alison Chaffin, I am a special education teacher and higher education professor. I have a passion for prison reform due to the school to prison pipeline. Also, I have a loved one who has served 6 years in his incarceration. But this is not who he is. He is a father, a son, a brother and a member of his community. I'm asking today to please not support HB 1603. The state of the carceral system in Virginia makes it extremely difficult to remain infraction free, these men and women have worked hard to prepare themselves to come, and by that very fact shown that they have changed and earned the right to a second chance. Virginia is one of the highest states to incarcerate our black men and women. This is racist bill that will continue to disproportionately affect our black men and women and our children. Like Reverend Jerome Barber said in the opening, “let’s be a voice for the voiceless” and vote no for HB 1603. Let Virginia lead the way in closing the school to prison pipeline and encourage our men and women behind bars to reform. Thank you.

Please vote NO FOR HB1603 we should be including more people to have the chance to earn yes I WROTE EARN a chance to come home a little sooner!

My name is Emily Shelton. I am the founder of Ignite Justice, a non profit organization that focuses on the incarcerated population and their families. I also am a mother and a wife of someone incarcerated. Supporting earned sentence credits as an incentive provides active accountability, recognizes rehabilitative progress, and contributes to both a constructive correctional culture and gives an offender a positive goal. Research shows that offering these incentives has increased the successful completion of community supervision, participation in programming, decreases our prisons population, improves prison conduct, and contributes to system-wide fiscal savings. Studies also show that earned sentence credit benefits the community by reducing recidivism rates and improving post-release employment opportunities. At this time i am requesting you do not pass hb 1603 and give all violent offenders the opportunity to earn time off their sentencing to help them be productive in society. Thank You, Emily Shelton Ignite Justice-Founder eshelton@ignite-justice.org 804-326-4414

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

The Virginia State Conference NAACP opposes this bill. It is wrong to place fees of court appointed attorney on the families of youth who have been declared indigent. It doesn't matter when those fees are assessed, whether the beginning or end of the case, the burden to the family still remains. We know most of the court cases involving our youth involve crimes due to the systemic issue of lack. Lack of affordable and quality housing, Lack of a quality education, Lack of economic opportunities, Lack of financial security, etc... Fees are the operating costs of a court system. These operating costs have already been paid by Virginia and localities. Virginia is a very diverse state, not just racial or ethnic diversity but also diversity of economic status. The cost of attorney fees for a family in SW VA may be a higher burden than for a family in NOVA and vice versa. The only true way to address the disparity is to end charging families of indigent youth for a constitutionally protected right to representation. This bill does not address the disparities for families but leaves it up to court discretion and will only add to the issues at hand. Removing the part of the bill that is attempting to create the illusion of addressing the financial burden for indigent families would improve the bill enough to gain our support. Leaving the youth fines portion in this bill causes us to firmly oppose this bill

Comments Document

Please see attached letter.

Comments Document

Please see attached a letter of support from Virginia-based organizations, organizations with staff based in Virginia, and survivor leaders.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the administration support this bill and look forward to working with Delegate Delaney on this moving forward.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

Comments Document

Please find comments attached.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

For 10 years I was married to a man who knew how to walk the line and "play the game" in the court system. I married him before finding out that he is a felon in VA and MD and by then I was on a mission to "save him" anyway. As these stories often go, the domestic abuse in the home went from bad to worse. We were living in Fairfax, had 2 small children, and I was the only one with stable income. I'd overcome the chaos in my home and worked my way up to an impressive position at my job in Tyson's Corner. Driving to work each morning my thoughts were focused on that job and the critical role it played in our livelihood. Other people driving to work might be thinking about the weather or what they were going to have for lunch that day -- but my mornings were often filled with threats from my husband. Threats that he was planning to come to my job and "cause a scene" so I would get fired or "show [my boss] who's REALLY in charge" -- you get the point. For years this was my life. The "grand finale" occurred after we moved to Charlottesville. I was working for the same company and had evicted him from my home. I was in a meeting and received a text from his mother that I needed to leave work because he was on his way to my office, with a gun, to shoot me. Because of prior threats I knew that I needed to email HR and include a photo of him so they could lock all doors and inform the 400 people in my office to not let him in. Obviously this was humiliating, but mostly it was TERRIFYING. This entire time he had time hanging over his head due to a larceny conviction. This bill doesn't speak to threats at all -- however I say with absolute confidence that abusers manipulate the system and THEY KNOW where the line is. This law wouldn't eliminate the threats. It gives a layer of protection to those being threatened. My ex-husband wouldn't dare pick up another felony - his pride and wish to gain custody back would prevent that. This law would have allowed me to concentrate on my job and feel safe.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

Why not consider the statutory option of a civil stay of an MOT court order, per an amended HB2434? This might be on the recommendation of expert testimony given by the court ordered evaluator, referred by the criminal judge upon acquittal, to the civil side for disposition by a special justice or district judge for direct MOT or "step-down" MOT in the community. The option of a civil stay of an MOT order would exist in district court or in a specialty court by a district judge or a special justice in a licensed facility or alternative site on a voluntary basis for a presumed legally competent SMI/DD/ID/Autism Spectrum respondent found not guilty due to lack of criminal intent (Mens Rea) at the time of the criminal offense (Actus Reus) but found to be in need of outpatient services in the community to avoid a foreseeable risk of future substantial deterioration. This option could be recommended in testimony at the criminal hearing by an expert evaluator (forensic clinical psychologist or board certified psychiatrist with a forensic specialty) as an option for the court prior to a verdict as not meeting ECO/TDO commitment criteria but who poses a foreseeable risk due to a past criminal act (Actus Reus).related to the individual's mental condition. Invoking a statutory stay of a civil MOT order would allow the individual and his or her chosen supporters under medical supervision and with oversight by a special justice or judge in specialty "problem solving" courts in the community to provide needed mental health services and CSB case management support similar to what is being done in CARE Courts in California. As in California CARE Courts, this provides an opportunity to use supported decision making or shared decision making as a case management model to facilitate a Virginia Advance Directive with Ulysses Clause with inpatient and outpatient crisis plans to intervene in the event of early prodromal signs and symptoms of substantial mental deterioration and loss of decisional capacity in the foreseeable future. Invoking a voluntary civil stay of an MOT order, as in CARE Courts, is similar to "preventative AOT" in a number of other states, such as New York, that allow this kind of civil judicial disposition. This "voluntary" community based treatment option might satisfactorily address Senator McClelland's reservations about the "involuntary" nature of an MOT order for Autism Spectrum, SMI, and other special needs "at risk" populations under SB1510 yesterday. Such an approach might help to salvage SB1510/HB2434 (indefinitely passed by yesterday in the Senate) , particularly if approved and recommended by an Interbranch Judicial Advisory Task Force, recommended by the National Judicial Task Force (10/2022), and sanctioned by the Executive Office of the Virginia Supreme Court working closely in concert with the Behavioral Health and Crime Commissions in a further study of diversion models, such as E EDCOT and CARE Courts.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

Bell HB2434 (Orders for involuntary outpatient evaluations & services; evidence of defendant's mental condition found not guilty due to diminished capacity to form criminal intent) is in my professional opinion as an independent forensic examiner a good example of contemporary lawmaking meeting the crisis needs of our time. A few states courageously allow for court ordered evaluation of these cases with diversion directly from the criminal courts to mandated civil court dockets in the community. Virginia may soon be one of them. This judicial disposition is reserved for individuals found "not guilty" by virtue of "diminished capacity" to form criminal intent (Mens Rea) but who may be in need of ongoing evaluation and services in the community because of the risk posed by the criminal nature of the act itself (Actus Reus). Usually court-ordered services involve direct or "step-down" Assisted Outpatient Treatment or AOT (in Virginia it’s called Mandated Outpatient Treatment of MOT). Most MOT civil dockets are reserved for individuals who pose no immediate or foreseeable risk of harm to the community or to themselves following discharge after an inpatient psychiatric stay. HB2434 allows, however, for disposition in cases of "diminished capacity" that might arise where the defense attorney for an individual charged with a serious criminal offense, including a violent offense, might offer a "diminished capacity" defense for his client. Such cases are likely to be rare in Virginia. They are typically based at least in part on expert testimony by a forensic expert, such as-a licensed forensic clinical psychologist or psychiatrist with a forensic specialty area, and this may lead to a verdict of acquittal. In such cases there may be experts providing testimony for the prosecution and for the defense. This is similar to NGRI cases with expert evaluation in the criminal courts. However, in acquittal cases by virtue of diminished capacity, the individual may be, and often is, released directly back into the community. Depending on the circumstances, an Emergency Commitment Order (ECO) may be issued under current Virginia law for individuals meeting commitment criteria considered at the time of acquittal to be at risk "in the near future" to harm self or others. On the other hand, if such an individual does not meet ECO criteria at the time of acquittal, he or she might pose a future risk for "mental deterioration" and therefore be in need of further court-ordered evaluation and services in the community deemed to be of a preventative nature. This form of AOT or MOT is termed "Preventative AOT or MOT". As an independent examiner for the Virginia Supreme court who regularly performs risk assessment in civil commitment courts, I believe that it is time for Virginia to consider expanding its legal "dangerousness" standard in civil commitment law to encompass the broader standard of "future risk for mental deterioration" based in part on the individual's past history of serious mental illness and known acts of past dangerousness. I applaud HB2434 as a step in the right direction in seeking a necessary compromise between the treatment needs of the individual with serious mental disease or disorder and the safety of the community.

As a VA resident and a survivor of grooming and abuse by my pastor, I am writing to you in support of HB2475. This bill is so important to help keep women and men safe in churches. I grew up in the church, had been in the church my entire life and considered it more than a community but, also, my family. The pastor of the church has such a powerful position as he is even referred to as “a man of God”. He speaks the words of God with authority and brings our prayers before God. We are encouraged in the church to go to our pastor in times of need. He knows intimate details about our life and our families. I trusted my pastor with my struggles, my spiritual questions and even my sins. Things that I would have not shared with anyone else and only because he was my pastor. My husband and I went to him for counsel when our marriage was struggling. Pastors have an access to people that no one else has. It is assumed that they have our best interest in mind. When I became his target he used this intimate knowledge about my life to groom me. And when he began making advances, it made consent impossible. He had been my spiritual leader for 15 years and positioned himself in my life in a way that I could not say “no”. The damage that resulted from my grooming and abuse has been vast. It was physical, psychological and emotional, but it also deeply harmed me spiritually. It felt like the raping of my very soul. Because of this, my recovery process has been ongoing, painful and costly. Every part of my being has been forever changed. While I was left in ruins, my pastor was forgiven and moved on to teach at a different church in the area. If we cannot trust our pastors, who can we trust? This is why we are asking you to vote yes on HB2475. Please help keep predator pastors out of our churches by holding them accountable for their actions. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I would like for you to hear me please. I was molested at the age of 5 years old, because my mother wanted her drugs amd men more than me. I was 10 years when I started using drugs and alcohol. By 11 I was told by my grandmother where my mom was so I Hitch hike from. CHICAGO to Cleveland to find her. I dropped out of school in the 6th grade the streets taught me how to read and write. The state trooper picked me up and did a APB for my mom. When found she told them that's not my child you can do whatever you want with her. Now I'm homeless, on drugs amd my parents doesn't want me. I remember being in that bathroom when a GROWN man forced me on my knees and said to me " You're not a little girl anymore you are a grown woman. For 2 weeks in that apartment all the men had their way with me. Now I was being sexually exploited. For 31 years I lived this way. I walked around with 8 pairs of socks because I never had any shoes. My childhood was taken away from me. I can never get that back. There are so many young kids out there who can be saved save them. As of August 6th 2010 which is my date of Grace 2019 I got my High school diploma, graduated college with my associates degree in social work in 2022, I am a publisher author of 31 Years in the Desert, many accomplishments. I will never be able to have children physically this is another reason I stand and not be silent. After 31 Years of hell I walk with my head held high. Something needs to be done to the sex traffickers, not the victims. Why should we be punished with felony records, can't get housing in a neighborhood like you live in. I had to pay double rent because I had prostitution charges. Where is the justice? I hope whoever reads this finds it in their hearts to make the right decisions moving forward. Thank you Castanita Fitzpatrick A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC. 214.535.3034 abutterflygetsherwings@gmail.com

I am writing in support of HB2475 to add Virginia to the existing states that have laws making sexual contact by clergy with individuals under their spiritual care, illegal. Last year, Tennessee joined 13 other states in making it illegal, and it is now time for Virginia to do the same. The reason I believe so strongly in this Bill is personal. Years ago a close family member went to her pastor for counseling, after suffering from depression and PTSD, as a result of growing up with an abusive father, who was an alcoholic. Her pastor took advantage of the deeply personal information she shared with him to groom her into sexual contact. Clergy not only meet with individuals who are vulnerable , but the individuals under their spiritual care put an enormous amount of trust in the clergy member, expecting them to help them, not to prey on their vulnerabilities and the implicit trust that they put in them. I implore you to add Virginia to the other states having such laws that passage of HB2475 would grant, as state borders should not dictate who is protected and who is not. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Comments Document

I am a researcher and clinician at Baylor University. My primary research with adult survivors of clergy perpetrated sexual abuse gives me a unique perspective on this issue. I am providing written support for HB 2475.

Honorable Delegates, please accept this as my written testimony in support of HB2475. I write as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse perpetrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia – unfortunately, I am not alone. A study conducted by Baylor University in 2008 looked at the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct and found that in the average US church, of 400 congregants, there are 7 women who report being the target of sexual advances by their clergy. It is difficult to accurately depict the confusion, fear, and shame that accompany being targeted by your pastor. Clergy are authorities in our lives, they hold power in our most precious, safe, religious spaces where they are entrusted by their congregations to lead and care for their souls; because of this, people seek out clergy during times of their life that are sensitive and vulnerable. When clergy use their position and power to sexually prey on the vulnerable in their care, they are committing sexual abuse – there is a power differential present that does not allow a congregant to consent, similar to the recognized power differentials in doctor/patient and lawyer/client relationships. The Church is aware of the abuses being perpetrated by predatory clergy in their midst – the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship created a Clergy Sexual Misconduct Task Force (exclusively pertaining to abuse of adults) in June of 2016 and the Southern Baptist Convention followed with its Sexual Abuse Task Force in 2021. We need your help in criminalizing clergy sexual abuse of adults and eradicating predators from our churches. It is common for clergy to pastor multiple churches in their career, what results in the situation of abusive clergy is more abuse, more victims, and no way to know until (if) a victim discloses – and in every case I have seen there has not been just one victim – like the Baylor research shows, we’re looking at 7 women per 400 congregants. The passing of HB2475, and a conviction, will allow churches to more effectively screen their pastoral applicants, or even volunteers, and protect the vulnerable in their churches from the crushing destruction of clergy sexual abuse. Honorable Delegates, I sincerely thank you for your time and your service to this great Commonwealth.

Dear Delegates, My name is Tiffany Zamora and I am one of the many survivors of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse against adults. As an advocate and facilitator of a peer-support group for fellow survivors, I urge you to support HB 2475. In my early 20’s, my life forever changed when the pastor I looked to for spiritual counsel exploited my vulnerabilities, betrayed my sacred trust, and purposely ignored his ethical obligation to maintain professional boundaries by sexually contacting me. What many referred to as a “sexual relationship” between me and my pastor was actually abuse and nonconsensual. I came to the pastor for help after I was kicked out of my home and estranged from my family. He used that opportunity to gain my trust, isolate me, and break down my defenses in order to sexually gratify himself. All this was done under the guise of “spiritual care.” He leveraged my spiritual trust in his position of power to abuse me for ten long years, during which I self-harmed in order to cope. When I finally broke free after a young woman spoke up about his inappropriate behavior toward her, I fled the state to hide from him, leaving behind most of my belongings and the community I held dear. His misuse of religious authority, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of professional ethics resulted in me experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. It is now ten years later, and I am still in need of therapy and anti-anxiety medication. I am not alone. As an advocate, I engage with survivors from around the world who have experienced this same type of devastation with lifelong negative mental and physical health ramifications. I urge you to help safeguard the citizens of Virginia from clergy who misuse their position of power to exploit those in their spiritual care. Please support HB 2475 and criminalize clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse of adults–the predatory behavior of religious leaders that has resulted in lifelong trauma for so many vulnerable citizens. Thank you for your time.

My name is Selene Witcher and I am a survivor of clergy/pastoral abuse that occurred in Bakersfield, CA in 2018. I am writing in support of HB2475 and although not a resident of Virginia, I can assure you that the horrendous abuse that happened to me unfortunately occurs in your state as well. I became a Christian in 2013 and was very devoted to my faith and church. Wanting to do the right thing, I approached my church to receive guidance and counseling regarding some marital and family issues during a time in my life when I was very vulnerable. I was referred to one of the beloved head pastors who I later found out was immediately attracted to me. He took it upon himself to counsel me and my husband for our issues instead of referring us out to a licensed marital counselor. Over a two year period he methodically groomed me by using scripture to gain my trust, found out marital secrets from my husband to use on me, used hypnosis techniques and studied psychotherapy experiments to draw me close to him, and eventually used the intimate information he found out about me through counseling my husband to sexually abuse me. All the while my pastor used scripture and my faith in Jesus to spiritualize the abuse and cause confusion. The harm this has caused upon my life is horrific and it wish this upon nobody. Shortly after my abuse came to light my family fled out of state to Oregon to get away from him. I was diagnosed with PTSD, experiencing extreme trauma. I can no longer open the Bible because it triggers my mind as he used the Bible as a tool to abuse me. The worship music that used to bring me such comfort is now a trigger that takes my mind back to the abuse. I have nightmares on a daily basis that bring me back to that dark time. My relationship with God is completely broken and it is my biggest loss. I was seeking a relationship with God and instead found myself being abused in every aspect of my being. How can a “man of God” do such a thing and how do I trust in God again? My soul is lost. Instead of punishment, my pastor was given a 100k severance by the church and assistance to regain his ministry. He is now again counseling vulnerable adults in the Bakersfield community through a national ministry called Cityserve. If he had a criminal record these organizations would be warned and vulnerable people protected. Please consider this testimony and hold clergy/pastors accountable in your state. Thank you, Selene Witcher Survivor

Delegates, I see your subcommittee has been assigned HB 2475, sexual battery regarding a member of the clergy. As a member of the clergy, I am writing to ask for your support of this bill. I was shocked in 2019 when the Houston Chronicle released their investigation into the prevalence of serially abusive pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention. Since then, many of us in the SBC have sought to find ways to increase accountability among our fellow pastors. One key way to do that is to enhance state laws so that predatorial pastors who leverage trust to sexually abuse church members will have these deeds show up on a criminal background check. Thus far, 13 states have adopted such laws. Last summer I asked my Delegate, Paul Krizek (D), whether he would be willing to sponsor a bill like this in Virginia. I am delighted that this bill now has bipartisan sponsorship with Delegate Karen Greenhalgh (R) as Chief Co-Patron and hope you will lend your support. Abuse has no place in the church. We are doing what we can at the church level and ask for you to help at the state level. Thank you for your service to the Commonwealth, Chris Davis Senior Pastor Groveton Baptist Church Alexandria, VA

To The Chairman and Honorable Committee Members: My name is Jules Woodson and I come before you today to speak in support of HB 2475. In Texas, at a church event when I was 14 years old, I first met the man who would soon become my youth pastor. At 15, my family and I attended his ordination ceremony shortly after he was hired by my church. Over the next several years, as an active member of the youth group, I was groomed in many ways and when I was 17 years old, and no longer considered a minor under Texas law, Andy Savage, my youth pastor, sexually assaulted me while driving me home alone from church. Though I reported the assault the very next day to the senior pastors of my church, I was immediately blamed and silenced while my abuser was supported and protected. Law enforcement was never notified and the abuse was effectively covered up. Subsequently, the trauma caused not only from the physical/sexual assault but the emotional and spiritual abuse I suffered as a result of the cover up has had a significant negative impact on my life, to include a week long hospitalization and extensive therapy which continues to this day. I trusted my pastors and depended on them to protect me but instead they stole everything from me. Nearly 20 years after my assault, in January of 2018, I finally found the courage to make a police report and to tell my story publicly. Within days my story made international news as my former youth pastor, who was working now as a pastor at a mega church in Tennessee, admitted to abusing me and received a standing ovation from his congregation. It was dubbed the standing ovation heard around the world...How could a pastor admit to sexually assaulting a teenager in his care and be applauded?!?! Unfortunately, this is the reality we live in. When sexual abuse occurs in the religious world, cheap grace and forgiveness are leveled as excuses to protect and defend clergy who abuse their position of trust and authority to prey on the vulnerable, with zero regard for accountability. My abuser later went on to say he believed the encounter to be consensual even though Texas law states that it could not be consensual as it clearly exploited my emotional dependency on him as my pastor, regardless of my age. This new bill before your committee incorporates language that my abuser, Pastor Andy Savage, could have been tried under had church leadership reported him to the police. What I believe to be even more heartbreaking is the simple fact that my story is not unique. I am just one of many who have been victimized by a clergy member. Though I now come to you with confidence and a new found strength, as a survivor, a speaker and advocate who has found her voice and made a global impact, there are countless victims of clergy sexual abuse who remain in the shadows. It's unfathomable to me that there are laws that protect students from predatory teachers, and patients from predatory doctors, counselors, psychologists and social workers yet, those who are sexually abused by a spiritual leader are left to fend for themselves. I come before you today in an effort to help clergy sexual abuse victims in the great Commonwealth of Virginia to have a voice. I am here today to stand in solidarity with them...And I humbly ask that you stand with us too. Please vote in support of HB 2475 to protect the public from clergy sexual abuse. Thank you for your time.