MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Gunn
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-29-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE CRIME OF PROCURING PROSTITUTION BY PROVIDING THAT PAYMENT OF MONEY OR ANYTHING OF VALUE TO A PERSON TO RECRUIT OR ENTICE ANOTHER PERSON TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL CONDUCT SHALL BE THE CRIME OF PROCURING PROSTITUTION; TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR SUCH PROCUREMENT; TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR A SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE FOR PROCURING PROSTITUTION OF A MINOR; TO INCREASE PENALTIES FOR PROMOTION OF PROSTITUTION; TO INCREASE PENALTIES AGAINST ASSOCIATIONS PROMOTING PROSTITUTION; TO AMEND SECTION 97-29-49, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT TO IMMEDIATELY REMOVE ANY MINOR FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE MINOR'S PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND PLACE THE CHILD WITH CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES, IF THE MINOR COMMITS PROSTITUTION; TO AMEND SECTION 97-5-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR ANY PERSON WHO ENTICES A CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE INTO PROSTITUTION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 97-5-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE INCREASED PENALTIES AND IMPRISONMENT FOR A PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY OR RECKLESSLY PROCURES, ENTICES, PERSUADES OR PERMITS THE PROSTITUTION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF A CHILD; TO REQUIRE A PENALTY OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR ANY PARENT OR GUARDIAN WHO PROCURES OR PROMOTES THE PROSTITUTION OR COMMITS HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF HIS OR HER MINOR CHILD; TO DEFINE SUCH ACTIONS AS "FELONIOUS CHILD ABUSE"; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD PROSTITUTION TO THE DEFINITION OF "ABUSED CHILD"; TO ADD HUMAN TRAFFICKING TO THE DEFINITION OF "SEXUAL ABUSE"; TO AMEND SECTION 97-29-45, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TO PROCURE PROSTITUTION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-54.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD THE TERM "SEXUAL ACTIVITIES" TO THE PROHIBITIONS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO INCREASE PENALTIES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO REQUIRE ANY MINOR WHO IS TRAFFICKED TO BE IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FROM THE CUSTODY OF THEIR PARENT OR GUARDIAN; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-54.2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD DRIVER'S LICENSES AND GOVERNMENT IDENTIFICATION TO THE LIST OF ITEMS THAT CAN NOT BE TAKEN FOR PURPOSES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-54.7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PROPERTY OBTAINED AS A RESULT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING MAY BE FORFEITED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 93-15-121, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD PROSTITUTION OF A MINOR TO THE GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 97-5-33, 97-5-35, 97-3-54.6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REGULATE PENALTIES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-29-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-29-51. (1) (a) Except
as otherwise provided in this subsection, a person commits the * * * crime of procuring the
services of a prostitute if the person * * * intentionally pays, or offers or
agrees to pay * * *
money * * *,
other property or anything of value to another person for having engaged
in, to engage in, or on the understanding that the other person will
engage in, sexual intercourse or sexual conduct with the person or with any
other person; or intentionally pays, or offers or agrees to pay money, other
property or anything of value to a person to recruit, entice, harbor, transport
another person who has engaged in, to engage in, or on the understanding that
the other person will engage in sexual intercourse or sexual conduct with the
person or with any other person. "Sexual conduct" includes
cunnilingus, fellatio, masturbation of another, anal intercourse or the causing
of penetration to any extent and with any object or body part of the genital or
anal opening of another.
(b) Upon conviction for
a first violation under this subsection, a person shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or
by confinement in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. A
second or subsequent violation of this section shall be a felony, punishable by
a fine not exceeding * * * Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00),
or by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more
than * * *
five (5) years, or both.
(c) (i) However, in all cases, if the person whose services are procured in violation of this subsection (1) is a minor under eighteen (18) years of age, for the first violation, the person convicted shall be guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than five (5) years, nor more than thirty (30) years, or by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. Upon a second or subsequent conviction under this paragraph, the person shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than twenty (20) years up to life imprisonment, or by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) or both.
(ii) However, in all cases, if the person whose services are procured in violation of this subsection (1) is a minor under eighteen (18) years of age, and the person convicted is a parent or guardian of the minor, such person shall be guilty of a felony and punished to life imprisonment.
(d) Consent of a minor is not a defense to prosecution under this subsection (1).
(2) (a) A person commits the felony of promoting prostitution if the person:
(i) Knowingly or intentionally entices, compels, causes, induces, persuades, or encourages by promise, threat, violence, or by scheme or device, another person to become a prostitute;
(ii) Knowingly or intentionally solicits or offers or agrees to solicit, or receives or gives, or agrees to receive or give any money or thing of value for soliciting, or attempting to solicit, another person for the purpose of prostitution;
(iii) Knowingly induces, persuades, or encourages a person to come into or leave this state for the purpose of prostitution;
(iv) Having control over the use of a place or vehicle, knowingly or intentionally permits another person to use the place or vehicle for prostitution;
(v) Accepts, receives, levies or appropriates money or other property of value from a prostitute, without lawful consideration, with knowledge or reasonable cause to know it was earned, in whole or in part, from prostitution; or
(vi) Conducts, directs, takes, or transports, or offers or agrees to take or transport, or aids or assists in transporting, any person to any vehicle, conveyance, place, structure, or building, or to any other person with knowledge or reasonable cause to know that the purpose of such directing, taking or transporting is prostitution.
(b) Upon conviction, a
person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding * * * Ten
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or by imprisonment in the custody of the
Department of Corrections for not more than * * * fifteen (15) years, or both. A
second or subsequent violation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding * * * Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) or by imprisonment in the custody of the
Department of Corrections for up to * * * thirty (30) years, or both.
(c) However, in all
cases, if the person whose services are promoted in violation of this subsection
(2) is a minor under eighteen (18) years of age, the person convicted for a
first violation shall be guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction, be
punished by imprisonment for not less than * * * ten (10) years, nor more than
thirty (30) years, or by a fine of not less than * * * One
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand
Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. For a second or subsequent conviction,
imprisonment no less than twenty (20) years up to life imprisonment, no less
than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. There is no
requirement that the defendant have actual knowledge of the age of the person
and consent of a minor is not a defense to prosecution under this section.
(3) If it is determined that a person suspected of or charged with promoting prostitution is a trafficked person, as defined by Section 97-3-54.4, that fact shall be considered a mitigating factor in any prosecution of that person for prostitution, and the person shall be referred to appropriate resources for assistance. If it is determined that a person suspected of or charged with promoting prostitution is a minor under eighteen (18) years of age who meets the definition of a trafficked person as defined in Section 97-3-54.4, the minor is immune from prosecution for promoting prostitution as a juvenile or adult and provisions of Section 97-3-54.1(4) shall be applicable, and the minor shall be immediately removed from the custody of their parent or legal guardian and placed in the custody of Child Protection Services or with next of kin. If a minor is removed from the custody of a parent or legal guardian under this paragraph, the Department of Human Services shall commence an initial investigation into suspected child abuse or neglect.
(4) Any partnership,
association, corporation or other entity violating any provision of subsection
(2) against the promotion of prostitution shall, upon conviction, for a
first violation be punished by a fine not exceeding * * * Five
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). Upon conviction for a second or
subsequent violation, any such entity shall be punished by a fine not less than
Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars
($1,000,000.00). If the person whose services are promoted is under
eighteen (18) years of age, the partnership, association, corporation or other
legal entity convicted shall be punished by a fine not exceeding * * * Ten
Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00). Upon conviction for a second or subsequent
violation for such promotion of a child under eighteen (18) years of age, any
such entity shall be punished for not less than Ten Million Dollars
($10,000,000.00) and an injunction to stop all operations owned by the
partnership, association, corporation or other entity. There is no
requirement that the defendant have knowledge of the age of the person.
Consent of a minor is not a defense to prosecution under this section.
(5) Investigation and prosecution of a person, partnership, association, corporation or other entity under this section shall not preclude investigation or prosecution against that person, partnership, association, corporation or other entity for a violation of other applicable criminal laws, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act, Section 97-3-54 et seq.
SECTION 2. Section 97-29-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-29-49. (1) A person
commits the * * *
crime of prostitution if the person knowingly or intentionally performs,
or offers or agrees to perform, sexual intercourse or sexual conduct for money
or other property. "Sexual conduct" includes cunnilingus, fellatio,
masturbation of another, anal intercourse or the causing of penetration to any
extent and with any object or body part of the genital or anal opening of
another.
(2) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection for minors, any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) or by confinement in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(b) Any person under eighteen (18) years of age violating the provisions of this act shall not be fined, but shall immediately be placed in the custody of Child Protection Services as described in subsection (3) of this section.
(3) In addition to the
mandatory reporting provisions contained in Section 97-5-51, any law
enforcement officer who takes a minor under eighteen (18) years of age into
custody for suspected prostitution shall immediately place the child in the
custody of Child Protection Services, make a report to the Department of
Human Services as required in Section 43-21-353 for suspected child sexual
abuse or neglect, and the department shall immediately commence an
initial investigation into suspected child sexual abuse * * * neglect or human trafficking as
required in Section 43-21-353.
(4) If it is determined that a person suspected of or charged with engaging in prostitution is engaging in those acts as a direct result of being a trafficked person, as defined by Section 97-3-54.4, that person shall be immune from prosecution for prostitution as a juvenile or adult and, if a minor, the provisions of Section 97-3-54.1(4) shall be applicable.
SECTION 3. Section 97-5-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-5-5. Every person who
shall maliciously, willfully, or fraudulently lead, take, carry away, decoy or
entice away, any child under the age of fourteen (14) years, with intent to
detain or conceal such child from its parents, guardian, or other person having
lawful charge of such child, or for the purpose of prostitution, human
trafficking, concubinage, or marriage, shall, on conviction for a first
violation, be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of
Corrections for not less than * * * five (5) years nor more than * * * thirty (30) years, or
fined not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), nor more than * * * Five
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. Upon conviction for a
second or subsequent violation, the person shall be punished for not less than
thirty (30) years up to life imprisonment, or fined not less than Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars
($1,000,000.00). Investigation and prosecution of a defendant under this
section does not preclude prosecution of the defendant for a violation of other
applicable criminal laws, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Human
Trafficking Act, Section 97-3-54 et seq.
SECTION 4. Section 97-5-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-5-39. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any parent, guardian or other person who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission contributes to or tends to contribute to the neglect or delinquency of any child or which act or omission results in the abuse of any child, as defined in Section 43-21-105(m) of the Youth Court Law, or who knowingly aids any child in escaping or absenting himself from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution, or knowingly harbors or conceals, or aids in harboring or concealing, any child who has absented himself without permission from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution to which the child shall have been committed by the youth court shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year in jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) For the purpose of this section, a child is a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday. A child who has not reached his eighteenth birthday and is on active duty for a branch of the armed services, or who is married, is not considered a child for the purposes of this statute.
(c) If a child commits one (1) of the proscribed acts in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c) of this section upon another child, then original jurisdiction of all such offenses shall be in youth court.
(d) If the child's deprivation of necessary clothing, shelter, health care or supervision appropriate to the child's age results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment in custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than five (5) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
(e) A parent, legal
guardian or other person who knowingly permits the continuing physical * * * abuse of a child is guilty of neglect
of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment in the custody of the
Department of Corrections for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a
fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(f) A parent, legal guardian or other person who knowingly or recklessly promotes, procures, entices, persuades or permits the prostitution or human trafficking of a child is guilty of felonious abuse of a child and shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
(2) Any person shall be guilty of felonious child abuse in the following circumstances:
(a) Whether bodily harm results or not, if the person shall intentionally, knowingly or recklessly:
(i) Burn any child;
(ii) Physically torture any child;
(iii) Strangle, choke, smother or in any way interfere with any child's breathing;
(iv) Poison a child;
(v) Starve a child of nourishments needed to sustain life or growth;
(vi) Use any type of deadly weapon upon any child;
(b) If some bodily harm to any child actually occurs, and if the person shall intentionally, knowingly or recklessly:
(i) Throw, kick, bite, or cut any child;
(ii) Strike a child under the age of fourteen (14) about the face or head with a closed fist;
(iii) Strike a child under the age of five (5) in the face or head;
(iv) Kick, bite, cut or strike a child's genitals; circumcision of a male child is not a violation under this subparagraph (iv);
(c) If serious bodily harm to any child actually occurs, and if the person shall intentionally, knowingly or recklessly:
(i) Strike any child on the face or head;
(ii) Disfigure or scar any child;
(iii) Whip, strike
or otherwise abuse any child * * *.
(d) Any person, upon conviction under paragraph (a) or (c) of this subsection, shall be sentenced by the court to imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not less than five (5) years and up to life, as determined by the court. Any person, upon conviction under paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be sentenced by the court to imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not less than two (2) years nor more than ten (10) years, as determined by the court. For any second or subsequent conviction under this subsection (2), the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
(e) For the purposes of this subsection (2), "bodily harm" means any bodily injury to a child and includes, but is not limited to, bruising, bleeding, lacerations, soft tissue swelling, and external or internal swelling of any body organ.
(f) For the purposes of this subsection (2), "serious bodily harm" means any serious bodily injury to a child and includes, but is not limited to, the fracture of a bone, permanent disfigurement, permanent scarring, or any internal bleeding or internal trauma to any organ, any brain damage, any injury to the eye or ear of a child or other vital organ, and impairment of any bodily function.
(g) Nothing contained in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall preclude a parent or guardian from disciplining a child of that parent or guardian, or shall preclude a person in loco parentis to a child from disciplining that child, if done in a reasonable manner, and reasonable corporal punishment or reasonable discipline as to that parent or guardian's child or child to whom a person stands in loco parentis shall be a defense to any violation charged under paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(h) Reasonable discipline and reasonable corporal punishment shall not be a defense to acts described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection or if a child suffers serious bodily harm as a result of any act prohibited under paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent proceedings against the parent, guardian or other person under any statute of this state or any municipal ordinance defining any act as a crime or misdemeanor. Nothing in the provisions of this section shall preclude any person from having a right to trial by jury when charged with having violated the provisions of this section.
(4) (a) A parent, legal guardian or caretaker who endangers a child's person or health by knowingly causing or permitting the child to be present where any person is selling, manufacturing or possessing immediate precursors or chemical substances with intent to manufacture, sell or possess a controlled substance as prohibited under Section 41-29-139 or 41-29-313, is guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(b) If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or both.
(5) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent proceedings against the parent, guardian or other person under any statute of this state or any municipal ordinance defining any act as a crime or misdemeanor. Nothing in the provisions of this section shall preclude any person from having a right to trial by jury when charged with having violated the provisions of this section.
(6) After consultation with the Department of Human Services, a regional mental health center or an appropriate professional person, a judge may suspend imposition or execution of a sentence provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section and in lieu thereof require treatment over a specified period of time at any approved public or private treatment facility. A person may be eligible for treatment in lieu of criminal penalties no more than one (1) time.
(7) In any proceeding resulting from a report made pursuant to Section 43-21-353 of the Youth Court Law, the testimony of the physician making the report regarding the child's injuries or condition or cause thereof shall not be excluded on the ground that the physician's testimony violates the physician-patient privilege or similar privilege or rule against disclosure. The physician's report shall not be considered as evidence unless introduced as an exhibit to his testimony.
(8) Any criminal prosecution arising from a violation of this section shall be tried in the circuit, county, justice or municipal court having jurisdiction; provided, however, that nothing herein shall abridge or dilute the contempt powers of the youth court.
SECTION 5. Section 43-21-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-105. The following words and phrases, for purposes of this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly otherwise requires:
(a) "Youth court" means the Youth Court Division.
(b) "Judge" means the judge of the Youth Court Division.
(c) "Designee" means any person that the judge appoints to perform a duty which this chapter requires to be done by the judge or his designee. The judge may not appoint a person who is involved in law enforcement or who is an employee of the Mississippi Department of Human Services to be his designee.
(d) "Child" and "youth" are synonymous, and each means a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday. A child who has not reached his eighteenth birthday and is on active duty for a branch of the armed services or is married is not considered a "child" or "youth" for the purposes of this chapter.
(e) "Parent" means the father or mother to whom the child has been born, or the father or mother by whom the child has been legally adopted.
(f) "Guardian" means a court-appointed guardian of the person of a child.
(g) "Custodian" means any person having the present care or custody of a child whether such person be a parent or otherwise.
(h) "Legal custodian" means a court-appointed custodian of the child.
(i) "Delinquent child" means a child who has reached his tenth birthday and who has committed a delinquent act.
(j) "Delinquent act" is any act, which if committed by an adult, is designated as a crime under state or federal law, or municipal or county ordinance other than offenses punishable by life imprisonment or death. A delinquent act includes escape from lawful detention and violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law and violent behavior.
(k) "Child in need of supervision" means a child who has reached his seventh birthday and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation because the child:
(i) Is habitually disobedient of reasonable and lawful commands of his parent, guardian or custodian and is ungovernable; or
(ii) While being required to attend school, willfully and habitually violates the rules thereof or willfully and habitually absents himself therefrom; or
(iii) Runs away from home without good cause; or
(iv) Has committed a delinquent act or acts.
(l) "Neglected child" means a child:
(i) Whose parent, guardian or custodian or any person responsible for his care or support, neglects or refuses, when able so to do, to provide for him proper and necessary care or support, or education as required by law, or medical, surgical, or other care necessary for his well-being; however, a parent who withholds medical treatment from any child who in good faith is under treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall not, for that reason alone, be considered to be neglectful under any provision of this chapter; or
(ii) Who is otherwise without proper care, custody, supervision or support; or
(iii) Who, for any reason, lacks the special care made necessary for him by reason of his mental condition, whether the mental condition is having mental illness or having an intellectual disability; or
(iv) Who, for any reason, lacks the care necessary for his health, morals or well-being.
(m) "Abused child" means a child whose parent, guardian or custodian or any person responsible for his care or support, whether legally obligated to do so or not, has caused or allowed to be caused, upon the child, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, emotional abuse, mental injury, nonaccidental physical injury or other maltreatment. However, physical discipline, including spanking, performed on a child by a parent, guardian or custodian in a reasonable manner shall not be deemed abuse under this section. "Abused child" also means a child who is or has been trafficked within the meaning of the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act by any person, without regard to the relationship of the person to the child.
(n) "Sexual abuse" means obscene or pornographic photographing, filming or depiction of children for commercial purposes, or the rape, molestation, incest, prostitution, human trafficking or other such forms of sexual exploitation of children under circumstances which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened.
(o) "A child in need of special care" means a child with any mental or physical illness that cannot be treated with the dispositional alternatives ordinarily available to the youth court.
(p) A "dependent child" means any child who is not a child in need of supervision, a delinquent child, an abused child or a neglected child, and which child has been voluntarily placed in the custody of the Department of Human Services by his parent, guardian or custodian.
(q) "Custody" means the physical possession of the child by any person.
(r) "Legal custody" means the legal status created by a court order which gives the legal custodian the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him with food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care, all subject to residual rights and responsibilities of the parent or guardian of the person.
(s) "Detention" means the care of children in physically restrictive facilities.
(t) "Shelter" means care of children in physically nonrestrictive facilities.
(u) "Records involving children" means any of the following from which the child can be identified:
(i) All youth court records as defined in Section 43-21-251;
(ii) All social records as defined in Section 43-21-253;
(iii) All law enforcement records as defined in Section 43-21-255;
(iv) All agency records as defined in Section 43-21-257; and
(v) All other documents maintained by any representative of the state, county, municipality or other public agency insofar as they relate to the apprehension, custody, adjudication or disposition of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause.
(v) "Any person responsible for care or support" means the person who is providing for the child at a given time. This term shall include, but is not limited to, stepparents, foster parents, relatives, nonlicensed babysitters or other similar persons responsible for a child and staff of residential care facilities and group homes that are licensed by the Department of Human Services.
(w) The singular includes the plural, the plural the singular and the masculine the feminine when consistent with the intent of this chapter.
(x) "Out-of-home" setting means the temporary supervision or care of children by the staff of licensed day care centers, the staff of public, private and state schools, the staff of juvenile detention facilities, the staff of unlicensed residential care facilities and group homes and the staff of, or individuals representing, churches, civic or social organizations.
(y) "Durable legal custody" means the legal status created by a court order which gives the durable legal custodian the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him with care, nurture, welfare, food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care. All these duties as enumerated are subject to the residual rights and responsibilities of the natural parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child or children.
(z) "Status offense" means conduct subject to adjudication by the youth court that would not be a crime if committed by an adult.
(aa) "Financially able" means a parent or child who is ineligible for a court-appointed attorney.
(bb) "Assessment" means an individualized examination of a child to determine the child's psychosocial needs and problems, including the type and extent of any mental health, substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders and recommendations for treatment. The term includes, but is not limited to, a drug and alcohol, psychological or psychiatric evaluation, records review, clinical interview or the administration of a formal test and instrument.
(cc) "Screening" means a process, with or without the administration of a formal instrument, that is designed to identify a child who is at increased risk of having mental health, substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders that warrant immediate attention, intervention or more comprehensive assessment.
(dd) "Durable legal relative guardianship" means the legal status created by a youth court order that conveys the physical and legal custody of a child or children by durable legal guardianship to a relative or fictive kin who is licensed as a foster or resource parent.
(ee) "Relative" means a person related to the child by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree.
(ff) "Fictive kin" means a person not related to the child legally or biologically but who is considered a relative due to a significant, familial-like and ongoing relationship with the child and family.
(gg) "Reasonable efforts" means the exercise of reasonable care and due diligence by the Department of Human Services, the Department of Child Protection Services, or any other appropriate entity or person to use appropriate and available services to prevent the unnecessary removal of the child from the home or provide other services related to meeting the needs of the child and the parents.
SECTION 6. Section 97-29-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-29-45. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons:
(a) To make any comment, request, suggestion or proposal by means of telecommunication or electronic communication which is obscene, lewd or lascivious with intent to abuse, threaten or harass any party to a telephone conversation, telecommunication or electronic communication;
(b) To make a telecommunication or electronic communication with intent to terrify, intimidate or harass, and threaten to inflict injury or physical harm to any person or to his property;
(c) To make a telephone call, whether or not conversation ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person at the called number;
(d) To make or cause the telephone of another repeatedly or continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called number;
(e) To make repeated
telephone calls, during which conversation ensues, solely to harass any person
at the called number; * * *
(f) Knowingly to
permit a computer or a telephone of any type under his control to be used for
any purpose prohibited by this section * * *; or
(g) To procure or promote prostitution as provided in Section 97-29-49 or 97-29-51 or commits human trafficking in Section 97-3-54.1.
(2) Upon conviction of any person for the first offense of violating paragraphs (a) through (f) of subsection (1) of this section, such person shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Upon conviction for the first offense of violating paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of this section, such person shall be imprisoned for not less than two (2) years nor more than ten (10) years, or fined not less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both. If the first violation is procurement or promotion of prostitution or human trafficking of a person under eighteen (18) years of age, upon conviction, the person shall be fined no less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or imprisoned not less than five (5) years, nor more than thirty (30) years, or both. Upon conviction for a second or subsequent offense, such person shall be imprisoned for not less than five (5) years nor more than twenty (20) years, or fined not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). If the second or subsequent offense is procurement or promotion of prostitution or human trafficking of a person under eighteen (18) years of age, the person shall be fined no less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), or imprisoned no less than twenty (20) years up to life imprisonment, or both.
(3) Upon conviction of any person for the second offense of violating subsection (1) of this section, the offenses being committed within a period of five (5) years, such person shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(4) For any third or subsequent conviction of any person violating subsection (1) of this section, except paragraph (g) of subsection (1), the offenses being committed within a period of five (5) years, such person shall be guilty of a felony and fined not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) and/or imprisoned in the State Penitentiary for not more than two (2) years, or both.
(5) The provisions of this section do not apply to a person or persons who make a telephone call that would be covered by the provisions of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USCS Section 1692 et seq.
(6) Any person violating this section may be prosecuted in the county where the telephone call, conversation or language originates in case such call, conversation or language originates in the State of Mississippi. In case the call, conversation or language originates outside of the State of Mississippi then such person shall be prosecuted in the county to which it is transmitted.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "telecommunication" and "electronic communication" mean and include any type of telephonic, electronic or radio communications, or transmission of signs, signals, data, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by telephone, including cellular telephones, wire, cable, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical system or the creation, display, management, storage, processing, transmission or distribution of images, text, voice, video or data by wire, cable or wireless means, including the Internet.
(8) No person shall be held to have violated this section solely for providing access or connection to telecommunications or electronic communications services where the services do not include the creation of the content of the communication. Companies organized to do business as commercial broadcast radio stations, television stations, telecommunications service providers, Internet service providers, cable service providers or news organizations shall not be criminally liable under this section.
SECTION 7. Section 97-3-54.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.1. (1) (a) A person who coerces, recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to coerce, recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, another person, intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to forced labor or services, or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of human-trafficking.
(b) A person who knowingly purchases the forced labor or services of a trafficked person or who otherwise knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor or services or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of procuring involuntary servitude.
(c) A person who knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, or who recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, a minor, knowing that the minor will engage in commercial sexual activity, sexual activity or sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or causes or attempts to cause a minor to engage in commercial sexual activity, sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, shall be guilty of procuring sexual servitude of a minor and shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than five (5) nor more than thirty (30) years, or by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both unless the person is the parent or guardian of the minor. If the person convicted under this paragraph is the parent or guardian of the minor, the person shall be punished with life imprisonment without parole in the custody of the Department of Corrections. It is not a defense in a prosecution under this section that a minor consented to engage in the commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or that the defendant reasonably believed that the minor was eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(2) If the victim is not a
minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a)
or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of
Corrections for not less than * * * five (5) years nor more than
twenty (20) years, or by a fine of not less than * * * Twenty
Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars
($100,000.00), or both. For a second or subsequent offense, a person
convicted shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections
for not less than ten (10) years, nor more than thirty (30) years, or by a fine
of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), nor more than Five
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. If the victim of the
offense is a minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in
subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of
the Department of Corrections for not less than * * * ten (10) years nor more than * * * twenty-five (25) years, or
by a fine of not less than * * * Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than * * * Five
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. For a second or
subsequent offense, if the victim is a minor, a person who is convicted of an
offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b), shall be committed to the
custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than twenty (20) years up
to life imprisonment, or fined not less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars
($500,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), or both.
(3) An enterprise may be prosecuted for an offense under this chapter if:
(a) An agent of the enterprise knowingly engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter while acting within the scope of employment and for the benefit of the entity.
(b) An employee of the enterprise engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter and the commission of the offense was part of a pattern of illegal activity for the benefit of the enterprise, which an agent of the enterprise either knew was occurring or recklessly disregarded, and the agent failed to take effective action to stop the illegal activity.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution of an enterprise that the enterprise had in place adequate procedures that are actually followed by the enterprise, including an effective complaint procedure, designed to prevent persons associated with the enterprise from engaging in the unlawful conduct and to promptly correct any violations of this chapter.
(d) The court may consider the severity of the enterprise's offense and order penalties, including: (i) a fine of not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); (ii) disgorgement of profit; and (iii) debarment from government contracts. Additionally, the court may order any of the relief provided in Section 97-3-54.7.
(4) In addition to the mandatory reporting provisions contained in Section 97-5-51, any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that a minor under the age of eighteen (18) is a trafficked person shall immediately make a report of the suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Human Services and to the Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator. The Department of Human Services shall then immediately notify the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the suspected child abuse or neglect occurred as required in Section 43-21-353, and the department shall also commence an initial investigation into the suspected abuse or neglect as required in Section 43-21-353. A minor who has been identified as a victim of trafficking shall not be liable for criminal activity in violation of this section, but shall be immediately removed from the custody of the parent or legal guardian and placed in the custody of Child Protection Services or the child's next of kin.
(5) It is an affirmative defense in a prosecution under this act that the defendant:
(a) Is a victim; and
(b) Committed the offense under a reasonable apprehension created by a person that, if the defendant did not commit the act, the person would inflict serious harm on the defendant, a member of the defendant's family, or a close associate.
SECTION 8. Section 97-3-54.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.2. Anyone who
knowingly destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates or possesses, or attempts to
destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, any actual or purported
passport or other immigration document, any government identification,
driver's license or any other actual or purported government identification
document of any person to prevent or restrict, or attempt to prevent or
restrict, without lawful authority, the person's liberty to move or travel in
order to maintain the labor * * *, services or sexual activities
of that person, when the person is or has been a victim of a violation set out
in Section 97-3-54.1, 97-29-49 or 97-29-51, shall be punished by
commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than
five (5) years.
SECTION 9. Section 97-3-54.7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.7. Forfeiture of assets and disposition of proceeds.
(1) In addition to any other
civil or criminal penalties provided by law, any property used * * * or obtained as a result of the
commission of a violation of this act shall be forfeited as provided herein.
(a) The following property shall be subject to forfeiture if used or intended for use as an instrumentality in or used in furtherance of a violation of this act:
(i) Conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles or vessels;
(ii) Books, records, telecommunication equipment, or computers;
(iii) Money or weapons;
(iv) Everything of value furnished, or intended to be furnished, in exchange for an act in violation and all proceeds traceable to the exchange;
(v) Negotiable instruments and securities;
(vi) Any property, real or personal, directly or indirectly acquired or received in a violation or as an inducement to violate;
(vii) Any property traceable to proceeds from a violation; and
(viii) Any real property, including any right, title and interest in the whole of or any part of any lot or tract of land used in furtherance of a violation of this act.
(b) (i) No property used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture under this section unless it appears that the owner or other person in charge of the property is a consenting party or privy to a violation of this act;
(ii) No property is subject to forfeiture under this section by reason of any act or omission proved by the owner thereof to have been committed or omitted without his knowledge or consent; if the confiscating authority has reason to believe that the property is a leased or rented property, then the confiscating authority shall notify the owner of the property within five (5) days of the confiscation or within five (5) days of forming reason to believe that the property is a leased or rented property;
(iii) Forfeiture of a property encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if he neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission.
(2) No property shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section, to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission established by him to have been committed or omitted without his knowledge or consent.
(3) Seizure without process may be made if the seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a search warrant or an inspection under an administrative inspection warrant.
(4) (a) When any property is seized under this section, proceedings shall be instituted within a reasonable period of time from the date of seizure or the subject property shall be immediately returned to the party from whom seized.
(b) A petition for forfeiture shall be filed by the Attorney General or a district attorney in the name of the State of Mississippi, the county, or the municipality, and may be filed in the county in which the seizure is made, the county in which the criminal prosecution is brought, or the county in which the owner of the seized property is found. Forfeiture proceedings may be brought in the circuit court or the county court if a county court exists in the county and the value of the seized property is within the jurisdictional limits of the county court as set forth in Section 9-9-21. A copy of the petition shall be served upon the following persons by service of process in the same manner as in civil cases:
(i) The owner of the property, if address is known;
(ii) Any secured party who has registered his lien or filed a financing statement as provided by law, if the identity of the secured party can be ascertained by the entity filing the petition by making a good faith effort to ascertain the identity of the secured party;
(iii) Any other bona fide lienholder or secured party or other person holding an interest in the property in the nature of a security interest of whom the seizing law enforcement agency has actual knowledge; and
(iv) Any person in possession of property subject to forfeiture at the time that it was seized.
(5) If the property is a motor vehicle susceptible of titling under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Title Law and if there is any reasonable cause to believe that the vehicle has been titled, inquiry of the Department of Revenue shall be made as to what the records of the Department of Revenue show as to who is the record owner of the vehicle and who, if anyone, holds any lien or security interest that affects the vehicle.
(6) If the property is a motor vehicle and is not titled in the State of Mississippi, then an attempt shall be made to ascertain the name and address of the person in whose name the vehicle is licensed, and if the vehicle is licensed in a state which has in effect a certificate of title law, inquiry of the appropriate agency of that state shall be made as to what the records of the agency show as to who is the record owner of the vehicle and who, if anyone, holds any lien, security interest or other instrument in the nature of a security device that affects the vehicle.
(7) If the property is of a nature that a financing statement is required by the laws of this state to be filed to perfect a security interest affecting the property and if there is any reasonable cause to believe that a financing statement covering the security interest has been filed under the laws of this state, inquiry of the appropriate office designated in Section 75-9-501, shall be made as to what the records show as to who is the record owner of the property and who, if anyone, has filed a financing statement affecting the property.
(8) If the property is an aircraft or part thereof and if there is any reasonable cause to believe that an instrument in the nature of a security device affects the property, inquiry of the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall be made as to what the records of the Federal Aviation Administration show as to who is the record owner of the property and who, if anyone, holds an instrument in the nature of a security device which affects the property.
(9) If the answer to an inquiry states that the record owner of the property is any person other than the person who was in possession of it when it was seized, or states that any person holds any lien, encumbrance, security interest, other interest in the nature of a security interest, mortgage or deed of trust that affects the property, the record owner and also any lienholder, secured party, other person who holds an interest in the property in the nature of a security interest, or holder of an encumbrance, mortgage or deed of trust that affects the property is to be named in the petition of forfeiture and is to be served with process in the same manner as in civil cases.
(10) If the owner of the property cannot be found and served with a copy of the petition of forfeiture, or if no person was in possession of the property subject to forfeiture at the time that it was seized and the owner of the property is unknown, there shall be filed with the clerk of the court in which the proceeding is pending an affidavit to such effect, whereupon the clerk of the court shall publish notice of the hearing addressed to "the Unknown Owner of _______________," filling in the blank space with a reasonably detailed description of the property subject to forfeiture. Service by publication shall contain the other requisites prescribed in Section 11-33-41, and shall be served as provided in Section 11-33-37, for publication of notice for attachments at law.
(11) No proceedings instituted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall proceed to hearing unless the judge conducting the hearing is satisfied that this section has been complied with. Any answer received from an inquiry required by this section shall be introduced into evidence at the hearing.
(12) (a) An owner of a property that has been seized shall file an answer within thirty (30) days after the completion of service of process. If an answer is not filed, the court shall hear evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture and forfeit the property to the seizing law enforcement agency. If an answer is filed, a time for hearing on forfeiture shall be set within thirty (30) days of filing the answer or at the succeeding term of court if court would not be in session within thirty (30) days after filing the answer. The court may postpone the forfeiture hearing to a date past the time any criminal action is pending against the owner upon request of any party.
(b) If the owner of the property has filed an answer denying that the property is subject to forfeiture, then the burden is on the petitioner to prove that the property is subject to forfeiture. However, if an answer has not been filed by the owner of the property, the petition for forfeiture may be introduced into evidence and is prima facie evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture. The burden of proof placed upon the petitioner in regard to property forfeited under the provisions of this chapter shall be by a preponderance of the evidence.
(c) At the hearing any claimant of any right, title or interest in the property may prove his lien, encumbrance, security interest, other interest in the nature of a security interest, mortgage or deed of trust to be bona fide and created without knowledge or consent that the property was to be used so as to cause the property to be subject to forfeiture.
(d) If it is found that the property is subject to forfeiture, then the judge shall forfeit the property. However, if proof at the hearing discloses that the interest of any bona fide lienholder, secured party, other person holding an interest in the property in the nature of a security interest, or any holder of a bona fide encumbrance, mortgage or deed of trust is greater than or equal to the present value of the property, the court shall order the property released to him. If the interest is less than the present value of the property and if the proof shows that the property is subject to forfeiture, the court shall order the property forfeited.
(13) Unless otherwise provided herein, all personal property which is forfeited under this section shall be liquidated and, after deduction of court costs and the expense of liquidation, the proceeds shall be divided as follows:
(a) If only one (1) law enforcement agency participates in the underlying criminal case out of which the forfeiture arises, fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer and deposited in the Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund, and fifty percent (50%) shall be deposited and credited to the budget of the participating law enforcement agency.
(b) If more than one (1) law enforcement agency participates in the underlying criminal case out of which the forfeiture arises, fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer and deposited in the Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund, twenty-five percent (25%) of the proceeds shall be deposited and credited to the budget of the law enforcement agency whose officers initiated the criminal case and twenty-five percent (25%) shall be divided equitably between or among the other participating law enforcement agencies, and shall be deposited and credited to the budgets of the participating law enforcement agencies. In the event that the other participating law enforcement agencies cannot agree on the division of their twenty-five percent (25%), a petition shall be filed by any one of them in the court in which the civil forfeiture case is brought and the court shall make an equitable division.
(14) All money forfeited under this section shall be divided, deposited and credited in the same manner as provided in subsection (13).
(15) All real estate forfeited under the provisions of this section shall be sold to the highest and best bidder at a public auction for cash, the auction to be conducted by the chief law enforcement officer of the initiating law enforcement agency, or his designee, at such place, on such notice and in accordance with the same procedure, as far as practicable, as is required in the case of sales of land under execution at law. The proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to the cost and expense in administering and conducting the sale, then to the satisfaction of all mortgages, deeds of trust, liens and encumbrances of record on the property. The remaining proceeds shall be divided, forwarded and deposited in the same manner as provided in subsection (13).
(16) (a) Any county or municipal law enforcement agency may maintain, repair, use and operate for official purposes all property described in subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section that has been forfeited to the agency if it is free from any interest of a bona fide lienholder, secured party or other party who holds an interest in the property in the nature of a security interest. The county or municipal law enforcement agency may purchase the interest of a bona fide lienholder, secured party or other party who holds an interest so that the property can be released for its use. If the property is a motor vehicle susceptible of titling under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Title Law, the law enforcement agency shall be deemed to be the purchaser, and the certificate of title shall be issued to it as required by subsection (9) of this section.
(b) (i) If a vehicle is forfeited to or transferred to a sheriff's department, then the sheriff may transfer the vehicle to the county for official or governmental use as the board of supervisors may direct.
(ii) If a vehicle is forfeited to or transferred to a police department, then the police chief may transfer the vehicle to the municipality for official or governmental use as the governing authority of the municipality may direct.
(c) If a motor vehicle forfeited to a county or municipal law enforcement agency becomes obsolete or is no longer needed for official or governmental purposes, it may be disposed of in accordance with Section 19-7-5 or in the manner provided by law for disposing of municipal property.
(17) The forfeiture procedure set forth in this section is the sole remedy of any claimant, and no court shall have jurisdiction to interfere therewith by replevin, injunction, supersedeas or in any other manner.
SECTION 10. Section 93-15-121, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-15-121. Any of the following, if established by clear and convincing evidence, may be grounds for termination of the parent's parental rights if reunification between the parent and child is not desirable toward obtaining a satisfactory permanency outcome:
(a) The parent has been medically diagnosed by a qualified mental health professional with a severe mental illness or deficiency that is unlikely to change in a reasonable period of time and which, based upon expert testimony or an established pattern of behavior, makes the parent unable or unwilling to provide an adequate permanent home for the child;
(b) The parent has been medically diagnosed by a qualified health professional with an extreme physical incapacitation that is unlikely to change in a reasonable period of time and which, based upon expert testimony or an established pattern of behavior, prevents the parent, despite reasonable accommodations, from providing minimally acceptable care for the child;
(c) The parent is suffering from habitual alcoholism or other drug addiction and has failed to successfully complete alcohol or drug treatment;
(d) The parent is unwilling to provide reasonably necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical care for the child; reasonably necessary medical care does not include recommended or optional vaccinations against childhood or any other disease;
(e) The parent has failed to exercise reasonable visitation or communication with the child;
(f) The parent's abusive or neglectful conduct has caused, at least in part, an extreme and deep-seated antipathy by the child toward the parent, or some other substantial erosion of the relationship between the parent and the child;
(g) The parent has committed an abusive act for which reasonable efforts to maintain the children in the home would not be required under Section 43-21-603, or a series of physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive incidents, against the child or another child, whether related by consanguinity or affinity or not, making future contacts between the parent and child undesirable; or
(h) (i) The parent has been convicted of any of the following offenses against any child:
1. Rape of a child under Section 97-3-65;
2. Sexual battery of a child under Section 97-3-95(c);
3. Touching a child for lustful purposes under Section 97-5-23;
4. Exploitation of a child under Sections 97-5-31 through 97-5-37;
5. Felonious abuse or battery of a child under Section 97-5-39(2);
6. Carnal knowledge of a step or adopted child or a child of a cohabitating partner under Section 97-5-41; or
7. Human
trafficking of a child under Section 97-3-54.1; * * *
8. Prostitution of a child under Section 97-29-51; or
(ii) The parent has been convicted of:
1. Murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent;
2. Aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child or another child of the parent; or
3. A felony assault that results in the serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent.
SECTION 11. Section 97-5-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-33. (1) No person shall, by any means including computer, cause, solicit or knowingly permit any child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or in the simulation of sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct.
(2) No person shall, by any means including computer, photograph, film, video tape or otherwise depict or record a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct or in the simulation of sexually explicit conduct.
(3) No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly send, transport, transmit, ship, mail or receive any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(4) No person shall, by any means including computer, receive with intent to distribute, distribute for sale, sell or attempt to sell in any manner any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(5) No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly possess or knowingly access with intent to view any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(6) No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, coerce, or order a child to meet with the defendant or any other person for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(7) No person shall by any means, including computer, knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, coerce or order a child to produce any visual depiction of adult sexual conduct or any sexually explicit conduct.
(8) The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer posed as a child or was involved in any other manner in the detection and investigation of an offense under this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.
(9) For purposes of determining jurisdiction, the offense is committed in this state if all or part of the conduct described in this section occurs in the State of Mississippi or if the transmission that constitutes the offense either originates in this state or is received in this state.
SECTION 12. Section 97-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-35. Any person who violates any provision of Section 97-5-33 shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be fined not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) and shall be imprisoned for not less than five (5) years nor more than forty (40) years. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of Section 97-5-33 shall be fined not less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and shall be confined in the custody of the Department of Corrections for life or such lesser term as the court may determine, but not less than twenty (20) years.
SECTION 13. Section 97-3-54.6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-3-54.6. Injunctive and other relief for victims of trafficking; confidentiality. (1) Any circuit court may, after making due provision for the rights of trafficked persons, enjoin violations of the provisions of this act by issuing appropriate orders and judgments, including, but not limited to:
(a) Ordering any defendant to divest himself of any interest in any enterprise, including real property.
(b) Imposing reasonable restrictions upon the future activities or investments of any defendant, including, but not limited to, prohibiting any defendant from engaging in the same type of endeavor as the enterprise in which he was engaged in violation of the provisions of this act.
(c) Ordering the dissolution or reorganization of any enterprise.
(d) Ordering the suspension or revocation of a license or permit granted to any enterprise by any agency of the state.
(e) Ordering the forfeiture of the charter of a corporation organized under the laws of the state, or the revocation of a certificate authorizing a foreign corporation to conduct business within the state, upon finding that the board of directors or a managerial agent acting on behalf of the corporation in conducting the affairs of the corporation, has authorized or engaged in conduct in violation of this chapter and that, for the prevention of future criminal activity, the public interest requires the charter of the corporation forfeited and the corporation dissolved or the certificate revoked.
(2) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in Section 99-37-1 et seq., the court shall order restitution to the victim for any offense under this chapter. The order of restitution under this section shall direct the defendant to pay the victim, through the appropriate court mechanism, the full amount of the victim's pecuniary damages. For the purposes of determining restitution, the term "victim" means the individual harmed as a result of a crime under this chapter, including, in the case of a victim who is under eighteen (18) years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the victim or a representative of the victim's estate, or another family member, or any other person appointed as suitable by the court, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such a representative or guardian. The court may order restitution even if the victim is absent from the jurisdiction or unavailable.
(3) Any person who is injured by reason of any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall have a cause of action against any person or enterprise convicted of engaging in activity in violation of this chapter for threefold the actual damages sustained and, when appropriate, punitive damages. The person shall also recover attorney's fees in the trial and appellate courts and reasonable costs of investigation and litigation.
(4) The application of one (1) civil remedy under any provision of this act shall not preclude the application of any other remedy, civil or criminal, under this act or any other provision of law. Civil remedies under this act are supplemental.
(5) At any time after a conviction under this act, the court in which the conviction was entered may, upon appropriate motion, vacate the conviction if the court finds the defendant's participation in the offense was the result of being a victim. Official documentation from a federal, state or local government agency as to the defendant's status as a victim at the time of the offense creates a presumption that the defendant's participation in the offense was a result of being a victim, but official documentation is not required to grant a motion under this subsection.
(6) In a prosecution or civil action for damages for an offense under this act in which there is evidence that the alleged victim was subjected to sexual servitude, reputation or opinion evidence of past sexual behavior of the alleged victim is not admissible, unless admitted in accordance with the Mississippi Rules of Evidence.
(7) In any investigation or prosecution for an offense under this act, the responsible law enforcement agency or prosecutor's office are required to take all reasonable efforts to keep the identity of the victim and the victim's family confidential by ensuring that the names and identifying information of those individuals are not disclosed to the public.
SECTION 14. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.