House Bill 1428

AN ACT TO ENACT "CARLY'S LAW"; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 45-33-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT FUTURE CONTACT WITH THE CRIME VICTIM BY A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 45-33-63, Mississippi Code of 1972:

45-33-63. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for a person required to register as a sex offender by Section 45-33-25 to commit any of the following actions against the victim of the offense that triggered the requirement to register as a sex offender under this chapter:

(a) Threaten, visit, assault, molest, abuse, injure, or otherwise interfere with the victim;

(b) Follow the victim to any public or private location, including, but not limited to, the victim's workplace;

(d) Contact the victim by telephone, written communication, or any electronic means;

(e) Remain present in or enter the victim's residence, school, or place of employment when the victim is present.

(2) The court in which the person was convicted for the registrable offense may enter an order exempting the registered person from the provisions of this act if:

(a) An adult victim requests such exemption; or

(b) The parent, guardian or conservator of a minor victim requests such exemption; and

(c) The court determines that no reasonable ground exists for the victim to fear any future contact with the registered person.

(3) A violation of this section shall be a felony punishable by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than five (5) years, but not more than ten (10) years, or both.

(4) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the victim or the parent, guardian or conservator of the victim, has in fact waived the provisions of this section in the manner required by subsection (2) of this act.

(5) A law enforcement officer shall arrest and take into custody a person, with or without a warrant or other process, if the officer has probable cause to believe that the registered person knowingly violated the provisions of this act.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the issuance or enforcement of a criminal sexual assault protection against a defendant who has been convicted under Section 97-3-65 or 97-3-95.

(7) For purposes of this act, the term "adult" means any person more than eighteen (18) years of age.

(8) This act shall be known and may be cited as "Carly's Law."

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.