LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined 36 other state Attorneys General in writing a letter to the American Law Institute (ALI) urging them to reject proposed changes to Section 213 of the Model Penal Code (MPC) that would weaken the ability of States to prosecute sexual assault, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking crimes, jeopardizing the safety of victims of these crimes, and restricting the ability of law enforcement to protect the general public from reoccurring offenders.

“As the Attorney General and as a mother, my greatest responsibility is to protect Arkansas children from predators wishing to do them harm,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “My office works tirelessly to investigate, arrest, and prosecute the most dangerous of criminals for the harm they inflict on children.”

The changes that Rutledge opposes, would no longer require sex offender registration for those convicted of kidnapping, sex trafficking, and possessing, distributing, or producing child sexual exploitation materials, while also increasing the burden of proof for the government when trying to convict these dangerous predators.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joins the Attorneys General of  Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia in signing the letter.