For amend and vote only, the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard Sen. Messmer’s SB 551 on victims of criminal acts. The bill provides the following:
- that a new registration period may be imposed if a sex or violent offender fails to register or improperly registers as a sex or violent offender
- prohibits records held by the Department of Child Services to be disclosed to any person who requests the record if it related to an ongoing police investigation or criminal prosecution
- provides that a parent, a guardian, or another representative may file a petition for an order for protection on behalf of a child against a person who engaged in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to believe that the health, welfare, or safety of the child was at risk
- amends the definition of “crime of domestic violence”
- creates certain rights and protections for a child in a defense interview where the child is a victim of a sex crime
- creates a procedure where a victim of a sex crime and child victim of a sex crime can have their identity protected from the public
- that if a child less than 16 years of age is summoned to testify as a witness to any hearing in any criminal matter, the child shall be allowed to have a comfort item or comfort animal while testifying
- expands the list of offenses that may be prosecuted before a victim reaches 31 years of age to include all offenses of child molesting, vicarious sexual gratification, child solicitation, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a minor, and incest
- that a person commits the offense of domestic battery, as a Level 6 felony, if the person has a prior unrelated conviction for strangulation
- that a person commits the offense of strangulation, as a Level 5 felony, if the person has a prior unrelated conviction for strangulation
- that a person commits the offense of kidnapping, as a Level 4 felony, if it results in moderate bodily injury to a person other than the removing person
- that a person commits the offense of criminal confinement, as a Level 4 felony, if it results in moderate bodily injury to a person other than the confining person
- that the existence of a reasonable mistaken belief as to the age of the child is a mitigating factor in the offense of child molesting
- amends certain age requirements and adds enhanced offenses to the offense of child seduction
- that a person at least 18 years of age who knowingly or intentionally: (1) performs or submits to sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child less than 16 years of age; or (2) performs or submits to any fondling or touching with a child less than 16 years of age with the intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the older person; commits sexual misconduct of a minor
- prohibits a person who has a Class D felony conviction or a Level 6 felony conviction for domestic battery to petition the court to reduce the felony conviction to a Class A misdemeanor
The bill was amended by consent to make the provision concerning the confidentiality of certain Department of Child Services cases effective upon passage, limit the protection order provision to persons who engage in sexual grooming activity, remove provisions concerning depositions and urges the legislative council to assign the topic to a study committee, and remove from the bill provisions concerning the reasonable mistake of age. The amended bill passed 7-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/551