The one-year sentence in a house of correction given a man who didnothing to stop the repeated rape of a 9-year-old girl has prompted astate senator to draft a bill to increase the maximum penalty in suchcases.

"This is outrageous, and someone has to do something,"said Senator Bruce Tarr, Republican of Gloucester, reacting to thesentencing Monday of Patrick Doyle, 42, of Salem.

Doyle wassentenced after being convicted of child endangerment in connectionwith accusations that a Beverly woman, Mary Jean Armstrong , allowedtwo men to have sex with her daughter in exchange for cocaine. Doylewas accused of doing nothing to stop the assault taking place severalfeet away from him.

Superior Court Judge Leila Kern sentencedDoyle to five years of probation for child endangerment and 2 1/2 yearsfor intimidating a witness, with all but one year suspended.

Kernremarked when sentencing Doyle that she was comparing Doyle's behavior-- engaging in sex with the girl's mother -- with the behavior of theother two men in meting out the sentence, according to a report in theSalem News.

Tarr, the ranking Republican on the Joint Committeeon the Judiciary, said last night that he expected to file a billWednesday to make child endangerment a felony punishable by up to 10years in prison. Currently, child endangerment is a misdemeanorpunishable by up to 2 1/2 years.

Child endangerment involves anact or omission of an act that puts a child in jeopardy of harm oractually harms a child, Tarr said.

"We have to send a strongmessage that a much longer sentence should be imposed when aggravatingcircumstances like these call for it," said Tarr, who said he expectedto have broad bipartisan support for the measure.

Tarr said theLegislature enacted the child endangerment statute in 2002 in reactionto the clergy abuse scandal and that it was intended for circumstancesin which officials of an agency or institution failed to act onknowledge of possible abuse.

"The case here is an unspeakable thing," he said.

Theprosecution of Doyle was handled by the Middlesex district attorney'soffice because one of his relatives is a ranking prosecutor in theEssex district attorney's office.

A spokesman for the Middlesexdistrict attorney said his office recommended a four-to-six-year termfor Doyle, which exceeded the one-to-three-year term called for in thestate sentencing guidelines.

"We went beyond the guidelinesbecause of the aggravating circumstances and the vulnerability of thevictim," said the spokesman, Corey Welford.