Ciattarelli repeatedly voted against bills that would have protected children
As a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli voted against bills that would have protected victims’ rights in cases of domestic and sexual violence.
Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican former General Assembly member running for governor, has a history of voting against legislation that would protect children and young adults in cases of domestic and sexual violence.
Ciattarelli served in the Assembly from 2011 to 2018. During that time, he three times voted against bills that would have kept sex offenders and other abusers away from children, and also against a bill that would have helped address college sexual assaults.
In 2013, he voted no on Assembly Bill 3219, which would have permitted domestic violence witnesses under the age of 16, and victims of any age, to testify in court by closed-circuit television rather than in person.
The same year, he also voted against Assembly Bill 3537, which would have terminated parental rights for individuals convicted of sexual assault that resulted in the birth of a child.
The next year, in 2014, he voted against a bill that would have disqualified registered sex offenders from working at “teen night” events at New Jersey businesses.
Also in 2014, he voted against a bill that would have allowed the New Jersey attorney general to fine higher education institutions that fail to appropriately respond to students’ allegations of sexual assault by other students.
Each of the bills passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly at the time, but none were ultimately signed into law by Republican then-Gov. Chris Christie.
Ciattarelli’s votes provide a contrast with some of his statements in the current campaign. For example, in July, after a NJ Advance Media investigation found more than 100 youth sports coaches, trainers and workers in New Jersey had been accused of sex crimes, Ciattarelli said he would “100% support mandated background checks and fingerprinting for all youth coaches, trainers, and others with close contact with children in sports leagues, as well as other activities.’’
During his time in office, he never introduced or voted for a bill addressing sexual assault.
According to NJ Advance Media, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill pledged to work with the New Jersey Legislature to address gaps in state law to better protect children from abuse.
“I am a parent of four teenagers who play sports, so I am disgusted and concerned by these reports,’’ Sherrill told the outlet in response to its investigation.
