ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law Thursday that will increase penalties for violent repeat sex offenders, among other provisions.
"Mariam's Law" is named for an Atlanta woman, Mariam Abdulrab, who was kidnapped and killed in 2021. It later emerged her accused killer had a prior sex assault and molestation conviction.
According to a Georgia House release on the signing of the bill, HB 188, it also changes a state offender review board's "risk assessment evaluation process/timelines for sexually dangerous predators" and "improves how the state handles sexual offenders who move to Georgia."
The bill provides for a life prison sentence or split sentence of prison followed by probation for life for any person with a previous sexual felony conviction who is convicted of the following crimes on a second occasion:
- Rape
- Incest
- Child molestation or aggravated child molestation
- Aggravated sodomy
- Aggravated sexual battery
- Statutory rape (if person convicted is 21 years or older)
- Enticing a child for indecent purposes
- Aggravated assault with the intent to rape
- Kidnapping which involves a victim who is under 14 years of age
- Trafficking of persons for sexual servitude
- Improper sexual contact by employee, agent or foster parent in the first or second degree
Any probation term shall also require electronic monitoring under the new law.
Abdulrab, who worked as a bartender, was returning home from work on an August morning nearly two years ago when she was kidnapped and found dead nearly an hour later. According to the release, the accused killer "failed to undergo a risk level assessment from the Georgia Sex Offender Registration Review Board" and "spent several years in prison and was released less than a year before Mariam’s kidnapping."
The board is also being renamed under the legislation to the Sexual Offender Risk Review Board.
Abdulrab's younger brother, Ali Abdulrab, previously told 11Alive that their family doesn't want this to happen to anyone else.
"I saw how it’s affecting our family and friends still. It’s heartbreaking, and no other family should have to go through that," he said.
“I’m grateful to Mariam’s family for turning their tragedy into a light that will prevent others from suffering,” Georgia Rep. Steven Sainz (R-St. Marys) said in a statement. “Since my first year in the legislature in 2018, I have been working on legislation to help ensure that dangerous predators don’t have an opportunity to create more victims in Georgia. Mariam’s family and friends brought smart policy ideas that aligned with the goal of increasing GPS monitoring for sex offenders. Their support formed a larger coalition and made it harder for a small handful of special interest groups to argue against the bill’s merits. Mariam’s tragic murder exemplifies the harsh reality of what perpetrators could unleash on Georgia victims. I hope to continue this partnership of safeguarding citizens from those who look to victimize our most vulnerable through some of the most egregious crimes.”