MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Cockerham, Sykes
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-3-65 AND 97-3-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A COURT TO ISSUE A CRIMINAL SEXUAL ASSAULT PROTECTION ORDER AGAINST A DEFENDANT UPON CONVICTION OF RAPE OR SEXUAL ASSAULT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 99-3-7 AND 93-21-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; 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) The crime of statutory rape is committed when:
(a) Any person seventeen (17) years of age or older has sexual intercourse with a child who:
(i) Is at least fourteen (14) but under sixteen (16) years of age;
(ii) Is thirty-six (36) or more months younger than the person; and
(iii) Is not the person's spouse; or
(b) A person of any age has sexual intercourse with a child who:
(i) Is under the age of fourteen (14) years;
(ii) Is twenty-four (24) or more months younger than the person; and
(iii) Is not the person's spouse.
(2) Neither the victim's consent nor the victim's lack of chastity is a defense to a charge of statutory rape.
(3) Upon conviction for statutory rape, the defendant shall be sentenced as follows:
(a) If eighteen (18) years of age or older, but under twenty-one (21) years of age, and convicted under subsection (1)(a) of this section, to imprisonment for not more than five (5) years in the State Penitentiary or a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both;
(b) If twenty-one (21) years of age or older and convicted under subsection (1)(a) of this section, to imprisonment of not more than thirty (30) years in the State Penitentiary or a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both, for the first offense, and not more than forty (40) years in the State Penitentiary for each subsequent offense;
(c) If eighteen (18) years of age or older and convicted under subsection (1)(b) of this section, to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary or such lesser term of imprisonment as the court may determine, but not less than twenty (20) years;
(d) If thirteen (13) years of age or older but under eighteen (18) years of age and convicted under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section, such imprisonment, fine or other sentence as the court, in its discretion, may determine.
(4) (a) Every person who shall have forcible sexual intercourse with any person, or who shall have sexual intercourse not constituting forcible sexual intercourse or 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 (4) shall apply whether the perpetrator is married to the victim or not.
(5) In all cases where a victim is under the age of sixteen (16) years, it shall not be necessary to prove penetration where it is shown the genitals, anus or perineum of the child have been lacerated or torn in the attempt to have sexual intercourse with the child.
(6) (a) Upon conviction under this section, the court may issue a criminal sexual assault protection order prohibiting the offender from any contact with the victim, without regard to the relationship between the victim and offender. The court may include in a criminal sexual assault protection order any relief available under Section 93-21-15. The term of a criminal sexual assault protection order shall be for a time period determined by the court, but all orders shall, at a minimum, remain in effect for a period of two (2) years after the expiration of any sentence of imprisonment and subsequent period of community supervision, conditional release, probation, or parole. Upon issuance of a criminal sexual assault protection order, the clerk of the issuing court shall enter the order in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry within twenty-four (24) hours of issuance, with no exceptions for weekends or holidays as provided in Section 93-21-25, and a copy must be provided to both the victim and offender.
(b) Criminal sexual assault protection orders shall be issued on the standardized form developed by the Office of the Attorney General.
(c) It is a misdemeanor to knowingly violate any condition of a criminal sexual assault protection order. Upon conviction for a violation, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Any sentence imposed for the violation of a criminal sexual assault protection order shall run consecutively to any other sentences imposed on the offender. The court shall also be empowered to extend the criminal sexual assault protection order for a period of one (1) year for each violation. The incarceration of a person at the time of the violation is not a bar to prosecution under this section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the imposition of any other penalties or disciplinary action otherwise allowed by law or policy.
( * * *7) For the purposes of this section,
"sexual intercourse" shall mean a joining of the sexual organs of a
male and female human being in which the penis of the male is inserted into the
vagina of the female or the penetration of the sexual organs of a male or
female human being in which the penis or an object is inserted into the
genitals, anus or perineum of a male or female.
SECTION 2. Section 97-3-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-101. (1) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(a), (b) or (2) shall be imprisoned in the State Penitentiary for a period of not more than thirty (30) years, and for a second or subsequent such offense shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for not more than forty (40) years.
(2) (a) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) who is at least eighteen (18) but under twenty-one (21) years of age shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years in the State Penitentiary or fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both;
(b) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) who is twenty-one (21) years of age or older shall be imprisoned not more than thirty (30) years in the State Penitentiary or fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both, for the first offense, and not more than forty (40) years in the State Penitentiary for each subsequent offense.
(3) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(d) who is eighteen (18) years of age or older shall be imprisoned for life in the State Penitentiary or such lesser term of imprisonment as the court may determine, but not less than twenty (20) years.
(4) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery who is thirteen (13) years of age or older but under eighteen (18) years of age shall be sentenced to such imprisonment, fine or other sentence as the court, in its discretion, may determine.
(5) (a) Upon conviction under this section, the court may issue a criminal sexual assault protection order prohibiting the offender from any contact with the victim, without regard to the relationship between the victim and offender. The court may include in a criminal sexual assault protection order any relief available under Section 93-21-15. The term of a criminal sexual assault protection order shall be for a time period determined by the court, but all orders shall, at a minimum, remain in effect for a period of two (2) years following the expiration of any sentence of imprisonment and subsequent period of community supervision, conditional release, probation, or parole. Upon issuance of a criminal sexual assault protection order, the clerk of the issuing court shall enter the order in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry within twenty-four (24) hours of issuance with no exceptions for weekends or holidays as provided in Section 93-21-25, and a copy must be provided to both the victim and offender.
(b) Criminal sexual assault protection orders shall be issued on the standardized form developed by the Office of the Attorney General.
(c) It is a misdemeanor to knowingly violate any condition of a criminal sexual assault protection order. Upon conviction for a violation, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Any sentence imposed for the violation of a criminal sexual assault protection order shall run consecutively to any other sentences imposed on the offender. The court may extend the criminal sexual assault protection order for a period of one (1) year for each violation. The incarceration of a person at the time of the violation is not a bar to prosecution under this section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the imposition of any other penalties or disciplinary action otherwise allowed by law or policy.
SECTION 3. Section 99-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
99-3-7. (1) An officer or private person may arrest any person without warrant, for an indictable offense committed, or a breach of the peace threatened or attempted in his presence; or when a person has committed a felony, though not in his presence; or when a felony has been committed, and he has reasonable ground to suspect and believe the person proposed to be arrested to have committed it; or on a charge, made upon reasonable cause, of the commission of a felony by the party proposed to be arrested. And in all cases of arrests without warrant, the person making such arrest must inform the accused of the object and cause of the arrest, except when he is in the actual commission of the offense, or is arrested on pursuit.
(2) Any law enforcement officer may arrest any person on a misdemeanor charge without having a warrant in his possession when a warrant is in fact outstanding for that person's arrest and the officer has knowledge through official channels that the warrant is outstanding for that person's arrest. In all such cases, the officer making the arrest must inform such person at the time of the arrest the object and cause therefor. If the person arrested so requests, the warrant shall be shown to him as soon as practicable.
(3) (a) Any law enforcement officer shall arrest a person with or without a warrant when he has probable cause to believe that the person has, within twenty-four (24) hours of such arrest, knowingly committed a misdemeanor or felony that is an act of domestic violence or knowingly violated provisions of a criminal domestic violence or sexual assault protection order issued pursuant to Section 97-3-7(11), 97-3-65(6) or 97-3-101(5) or an ex parte protective order, protective order after hearing or court-approved consent agreement entered by a chancery, circuit, county, justice or municipal court pursuant to the Protection from Domestic Abuse Law, Sections 93-21-1 through 93-21-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, or a restraining order entered by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction to protect an applicant from domestic violence.
(b) If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that two (2) or more persons committed an act of domestic violence as defined herein, or if two (2) or more persons make complaints of domestic violence to the officer, the officer shall attempt to determine who was the principal aggressor. The term principal aggressor is defined as the party who poses the most serious ongoing threat, or who is the most significant, rather than the first, aggressor. The officer shall presume that arrest is not the appropriate response for the person or persons who were not the principal aggressor. If the officer affirmatively finds more than one (1) principal aggressor was involved, the officer shall document those findings.
(c) To determine * * * which party was the principal
aggressor, the officer shall consider the following factors, although such
consideration is not limited to these factors:
(i) Evidence from the persons involved in the domestic abuse;
(ii) The history of domestic abuse between the parties, the likelihood of future injury to each person, and the intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from continuing abuse;
(iii) Whether one (1) of the persons acted in self-defense; and
(iv) Evidence from witnesses of the domestic violence.
(d) A law enforcement officer shall not base the decision of whether to arrest on the consent or request of the victim.
(e) A law enforcement officer's determination regarding the existence of probable cause or the lack of probable cause shall not adversely affect the right of any party to independently seek appropriate remedies.
(4) (a) Any person authorized by a court of law to supervise or monitor a convicted offender who is under an intensive supervision program may arrest the offender when the offender is in violation of the terms or conditions of the intensive supervision program, without having a warrant, provided that the person making the arrest has been trained at the Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy established under Section 45-5-1 et seq., or at a course approved by the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "intensive supervision program" means an intensive supervision program of the Department of Corrections as described in Section 47-5-1001 et seq., or any similar program authorized by a court for offenders who are not under jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections.
(5) As used in subsection (3) of this section, the phrase "misdemeanor or felony that is an act of domestic violence" shall mean one or more of the following acts between current or former spouses or a child of current or former spouses, persons living as spouses or who formerly lived as spouses or a child of persons living as spouses or who formerly lived as spouses, a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the defendant, persons who have a current or former dating relationship, or persons who have a biological or legally adopted child together:
(a) Simple or aggravated domestic violence within the meaning of Section 97-3-7;
(b) Disturbing the family or public peace within the meaning of Section 97-35-9, 97-35-11, 97-35-13 or 97-35-15; or
(c) Stalking within the meaning of Section 97-3-107.
(6) Any arrest made pursuant to subsection (3) of this section shall be designated as domestic assault or domestic violence on both the arrest docket and the incident report. Any officer investigating a complaint of a misdemeanor or felony that is a crime of domestic violence who finds probable cause that such an offense has occurred within the past twenty-four (24) hours shall file an affidavit on behalf of the victim(s) of the crime, regardless of whether an arrest is made within that time period. If the crime is reported or investigated outside of that twenty-four-hour period, the officer may file the affidavit on behalf of the victim. In the event the officer does not file an affidavit on behalf of the victim, the officer shall instruct the victim of the procedure for filing on his or her own behalf.
(7) A law enforcement officer shall not be held liable in any civil action for an arrest based on probable cause and in good faith pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, or failure, in good faith, to make an arrest pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(8) The authority for the State Chief Deputy Fire Marshal and deputy state fire marshals to make arrests shall be governed by the provisions of Section 45-11-1.
SECTION 4. Section 93-21-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-21-25. (1) In order to provide a statewide registry for protection orders and to aid law enforcement, prosecutors and courts in handling such matters, the Attorney General is authorized to create and administer a Mississippi Protection Order Registry. The Attorney General's office shall implement policies and procedures governing access to the registry by authorized users, which shall include provisions addressing the confidentiality of any information which may tend to reveal the location or identity of a victim of domestic abuse.
(2) All orders issued
pursuant to Sections 93-21-1 through 93-21-29, * * * 97-3-7(11), 97-3-65(6) or 97-3-101(5)
will be maintained in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry. It shall be
the duty of the clerk of the issuing court to enter all civil and criminal
domestic abuse protection orders and all criminal sexual assault protection
orders, including any modifications, amendments or dismissals of such
orders, into the Mississippi Protection Order Registry within twenty-four (24)
hours of issuance with no exceptions for weekends or holidays. A separate copy
of any order shall be provided to the sheriff's department TAC officers of the
county of the issuing court. The copy may be provided in electronic format.
Each qualifying protection order submitted to the Mississippi Protection Order
Registry shall be automatically transmitted to the National Criminal
Information Center Protection Order File. Failure of the clerk to enter the
order into the registry or to provide a copy of the order to law enforcement
shall have no effect on the validity or enforcement of an otherwise valid
protection order.
Any information regarding
the registration or issuance of a civil or criminal domestic * * * abuse protection order or a
criminal sexual assault protection order, or the filing of a
petition for a civil domestic * * * abuse protection order * * *
which is maintained in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry * * * and would tend to reveal the
identity or location of the protected person(s) shall not constitute a public
record and shall be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Mississippi Public
Records Act of 1983. This information may be disclosed to appropriate law
enforcement, prosecutors or courts for protection order enforcement purposes.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.