Jindal signs bill requiring witnesses to child sex abuse to report crime
by Ed Anderson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Baton Rouge -- Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a bill that would require adults who witness cases of sexual abuse of children to report the incidents to authorities or face time in jail. Jindal's press office announced late Friday that he has signed House Bill 577 by Rep. Joseph Lopinto III, R-Metairie, part of the governor's package of bills for the 2012 session of the Louisiana Legislature. The bill was one of several filed in reaction to the situation at Penn State University where athletic department personnel allegedly saw assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky abusing children and did not report the incidents. Lopinto's bill, which became law when Jindal signed it Friday, said anyone who witnesses sexual abuse of a child and does not report it could face a fine not to exceed $10,000 and imprisonment for up to five years or both.