MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Judiciary

By: Senator(s) Smith, Kirby, Nunnelee, White (29th)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE CRIMES OF RAPE AND STATUTORY RAPE; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-95, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE CRIME OF SEXUAL BATTERY; TO REPEAL SECTION 97-3-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH SPECIFIES THE PENALTY FOR CARNAL KNOWLEDGE OF AN UNMARRIED PERSON BETWEEN THE AGES OF 14 AND 18; TO CREATE THE CRIME OF UNLAWFUL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES THEREFOR; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR A PERSON WHO IMPREGNATES A CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 18 IN VIOLATION THEREOF; TO PROVIDE A CONDITION OF PROBATION; TO AUTHORIZE CIVIL PENALTIES IN LIEU OF CRIMINAL PROSECUTION; TO AUTHORIZE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO BRING SUCH CIVIL ACTIONS; TO CREATE THE UNDERAGE PREGNANCY PREVENTION FUND; TO REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN A SEARCH WARRANT FOR THE PURPOSES OF GENETIC TESTING OF A SUSPECT WHO IMPREGNATES A CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 18 IN VIOLATION OF THE LAWS PROHIBITING CERTAIN SEX CRIMES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 97-3-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-3-65. (1) As used in this section, "sexual intercourse" means anal or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another.

(2) The crime of statutory rape is committed when:

(a) Any person eighteen (18) years of age or older has sexual intercourse with a child the age of fifteen (15) years or younger who is not the person's spouse.

(b) Any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older has sexual intercourse with a child sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age who is not the person's spouse.

(c) Any person has sexual intercourse with a child under the age of fourteen (14) years or younger who is not the person's spouse.

(d) Neither the victim's lack of chastity nor the victim's consent is a defense to a charge of statutory rape.

(3) Upon conviction for statutory rape, the defendant shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary or such lesser term of imprisonment as the court may determine; provided, however, any person thirteen (13) years of age or over but under eighteen (18) years of age convicted of such crime shall be sentenced to such term of imprisonment as the court, in its discretion, may determine.

(4) In all cases where the child is under the age of fifteen (15) years, it shall not be necessary to prove penetration of the child's private parts where it is shown the private parts of the child have been lacerated or torn in the attempt to have sexual intercourse with the child.

(5)(a) Every person who shall have forcible sexual intercourse with any person * * *, or who shall have sexual intercourse not constituting statutory rape with any person * * * without that person's consent by administering to such person any substance or liquid which shall produce such stupor or such imbecility of mind or weakness of body as to prevent effectual resistance, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for life in the State Penitentiary if the jury by its verdict so prescribes; and in cases where the jury fails to fix the penalty at life imprisonment, the court shall fix the penalty at imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for any term as the court, in its discretion, may determine.

(b) This subsection (5) shall apply whether the perpetrator is married to the victim or not.

SECTION 2. Section 97-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-3-95. * * * A person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she engages in sexual penetration with:

(a) Another person without his or her consent;

(b) A mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person; * * *

(c) A child under the age of sixteen (16) years, if the person is eighteen (18) years of age or older; or

(d) A child of age sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years, if the person is twenty-one (21) years of age or older.

SECTION 3. Section 97-3-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, which specifies the penalty for carnal knowledge of an unmarried person between the ages of fourteen (14) and eighteen (18), is repealed.

SECTION 4. (1) Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator if the person is under the age of eighteen (18) years.

(2)(a) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of eighteen (18) who is not more than three (3) years older or three (3) years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Any person eighteen (18) years of age or older who impregnates a person under the age of eighteen (18) in violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than six (6) months and not more than one (1) year, by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both fine and imprisonment.

(3)(a) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of eighteen (18) who is more than three (3) years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of a felony and shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period not less than one (1) year, by a fine not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or by both fine and imprisonment.

(b) Any person over the age of eighteen (18) who impregnates a person under the age of eighteen (18) in violation of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period not to exceed thirty (30) years, by a fine not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or by both fine and imprisonment.

(4) Any person previously convicted of impregnating a child under the age of eighteen (18) in violation of this section shall, upon a subsequent conviction under this section, be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period not to exceed forty (40) years, by a fine not to exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or by both fine and imprisonment.

(5) Acknowledgment of paternity and entering into an enforceable child support agreement may be a condition of probation to a first conviction under this section.

(6) In lieu of criminal prosecution pursuant to this section, a person over the age of eighteen (18) who impregnates a child in violation of this section may be liable for civil penalties in the following amounts:

(a) A person over the age of eighteen (18) years who impregnates a child less than two (2) years younger than himself is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).

(b) A person over the age of eighteen (18) years who impregnates a child at least two (2) years younger than himself is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).

(c) A person over the age of eighteen (18) years who impregnates a child at least three (3) years younger than himself is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).

(d) A person over the age of twenty-one (21) years who impregnates a child under sixteen (16) years of age is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00).

The district attorney may bring actions to recover civil penalties pursuant to this subsection. From the amounts collected for each case, an amount equal to the costs of pursuing the action shall be deposited with the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered, and the remainder shall be deposited in the Underage Pregnancy Prevention Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. Amounts deposited in the Underage Pregnancy Prevention Fund may be used only for the purpose of funding programs to prevent underage pregnancy upon appropriation by the Legislature.

SECTION 5. In any prosecution for statutory rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, rape or sexual battery in which the victim thereof had not yet attained the age of eighteen (18) years at the time of the alleged commission of the crime, and which results in a pregnancy, the law enforcement agency investigating the crime shall make every effort to identify the probable perpetrator and petition the appropriate court for a warrant to compel the suspect to make himself available so that a sample of his blood may be obtained for genetic testing which could serve as evidence against him in a trial for that crime. A warrant to so compel the underage mother and the infant, upon its birth and in absence of any medical contraindication, shall also be obtained if necessary.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.