Named after a child victim in Florida, Jessica’s Law is the term given to a law requiring mandatory minimum sentences for certain sex crimes. On April 24, 2006, Oregon’s governor signed Oregon’s version of Florida’s Jessica’s Law.
The law still is known informally as Jessica’s Law in Oregon. Under Oregon’s Jessica’s Law, a defendant convicted of committing a First Degree sex-related offense (such as rape, sodomy, kidnapping, and unlawful sexual penetration) against a child who was under the age of 12 at the time of the offense must serve a minimum of 25 years in prison.
These mandatory minimum sentences for Jessica’s Law amended the Measure 11 Mandatory Minimum sentencing under ORS 137.700.
