Press Releases

Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) released the following statement after introducing the Paula Bohovesky and Joan D’Alessandro Act.

In 1973, Joan D’Alessandro was seven years old and had just left her house to sell Girl Scout cookies in her New Jersey hometown. Making only the mistake of knocking on a neighbor’s door, she was sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled to death. Over two decades later in 1998, Congress passed legislation to repeal parole eligibility for criminals who sexually assaulted and killed a child under age 14.

Similar to Joan, Paula Bohovesky was 16 years old when she was beaten, stabbed, sexually assaulted, and murdered in Rockland County, NY. But because Paula was 16 at the time of her death, her killer was released on parole just a few years ago.

The Paula Bohovesky and Joan D’Alessandro Act will raise the age for prohibition on parole to cover all minors 18 and under. 

“The horrific deaths of Joan D’Alessandro and Paula Bohovesky shook Rockland County and the Hudson Valley to their core,” said Congressman Lawler. “This horrible tragedy occurred right in our backyard, and the gross perpetrators must be held rightly accountable.”

“The bipartisan Paula Bohovesky and Joan D’Alessandro Act will put in place penalties at the federal level that will ensure no family has to endure the pain of seeing their child’s tormentor released from prison,” Congressman Lawler concluded. “And it will hopefully give some peace to families across the country.”

The Paula Bohovesky and Joan D’Alessandro Act is cosponsored by Representatives Randy Weber (R-TX-14), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), Don Davis (D-NC-01), Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), and Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY-04). It has broad support from children and law enforcement advocacy organizations, including the New York State Children’s Alliance, the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), and Sergeants Benevolent Association NYPD.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of the 118th Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties.