“Imagine this, a person being sexually abused or raped almost every day on Guam. Most victims are female, and many of them are children.”

These aren't just words but a bleak reality, highlighted by Shirley Untalan, program director of Healing Hearts Crisis Center, the only rape crisis center on the island.

Untalan testified in support of Bill-183, a measure seeking to toughen the penalties for those convicted of first and second degree criminal sexual conduct against children under 12 years old.

Untalan backed the proposed minimum sentences: 25 years for first-degree CSC and 10 years for second-degree offenders, amid what she calls an epidemic.

She added, “Statistics for January 2024 to March 2024, we have seen 21 clients. 18 are females, three are males. Of the 21, 3 were between the ages of 0-6, 4 were between the ages of 7-12, 6 were between the ages of 13-17, 4 were between the ages of 18-24, as well as ages 25-59.”

It's a problem also reflected in the number of criminal sexual conduct complaints received by the Guam Police Department. Most recently in 2023, of the 233 complaints GPD received, 166 victims were under the age of 17.

The issue prompted Untalan to recommend to lawmakers that convicted sex offenders receive mandatory counseling on top of the already suggested lifetime monitoring.

But the island’s Attorney General proposed even stricter punishment.

“That you have mandatory life sentences without parole. Now, people might think that’s harsh, but I believe that the professionals, the psychiatric professionals, will tell you that the ability to reform a sexual predator, a pedophile specifically, is very low. once a pedophile, always a pedophile,” said AG Moylan.

The AG asked the legislature to further build on his suggestion.

He said, “At least put a speedy trial right for the pedophiles. That we can take them from the moment from that police complaint, take them before the magistrate, and then take them before a grand jury, and then take them into trial within 60 days.”

While testimonies heavily leaned in favor of the bill, other concerns included overcrowding at the department of corrections due to longer prison terms and whether the suggestions made today would undermine a judge's sentencing.