A local man is putting pressure on the state legislature to change sentencing requirements for sex offenders. David Bigelow hopes to help legislators create a law that would enforce mandatory minimum sentences for certain sex crimes.

This comes after he says his neighbor, Michael Nef, was sentenced too leniently for one of the most atrocious sex abuse cases Jefferson County prosecutors have ever seen.

Currently there are no mandatory minimum sentences for first time sex offenders like Nef in Idaho.  There are only mandatory minimums for repeat offenders.

This fall, Nef pleaded guilty to abusing two relatives for a period of 20 years.  He admits to  genital to genital contact with a three year old, he also admits to videotaped sex with a 13 year old and perhaps the most disturbing admission, he forced his relative into sex with the family dog.

Bigelow says, "This is an outrage, I think if people come to understand this, they too will be outraged."

In November, Judge Brent Moss sentenced Nef to a retained jurisdication, meaning Nef will spend six months in prison and then Judge Moss will decide whether or not to place him on parole or in prison for the remaining life sentence.

Bigelow says it's ridiculous to give an offender like this the possibility to get out after six months. He says, "Every other sexual pervert in the hidden closet will see this and say, 'it doesnt matter, ill be evaluated and released.' Every little girl who's been abused will say, 'why should I come forward, what justice will be done?"

At sentencing, Judge Moss said he decided on the retained jurisdiction because he didn't feel like he had enough information about Nef.  Judge Moss hopes the six months of evaluation will provide the information he needs for a more complete sentence.

Since Nef's sentencing, bigelow has accumulated newspaper clippings of other notable sentences, "A federal judge sentenced Michael Vick to 23 months in prison in dog fighting case, that doesn't sound like common sense.  It just doesn't make sense, a man who fights dogs vs. a man who abused kids."

Bigelow has printed out 500 petitions, hoping that thousands of local people will sign them and send a message to legislators that a retained jurisdiction isn't the right sentence for people like Michael Nef. " I want to send a message that we will not tolerate in this society, judges slapping hands of sex offenders."

Representative Dean Mortimer told Local News 8 on Thurday, "If theres an issue we need to work on, I want to help. I plan to get more information."

Interestingly, right now Utah is seriously looking at implementing Jessica's law which would require anyone convicted of raping a child to 25 years in prison.

Nef's retained jurisdiction is up on May 19th, 2008, after that he will serve the rest of his life sentence on probation or in prison.

For more information on Bigelow's petition, you can email David at davidbigelow49@msn.com.