CCS HS#2 HCS SS SCS SB 969, 673 & 855 -- SEX CRIMES

This bill makes a variety of changes to the laws governing the
prosecution and prevention of sex crimes.

SEX CRIMES

The bill:

(1)  Creates the crime of enticement of a child.  A person
commits the crime of enticement if he or she is at least 21 years
old and persuades, solicits, coaxes, entices, or lures any person
who is less than 15 years of age for the purpose of engaging in
sexual conduct.  Attempting to entice a child is a class D
felony.  Enticement of a child is a class C felony unless a
person has been found guilty of previous sexual offenses, then it
is a class B felony;

(2)  Creates the crime of sexual contact with an inmate.  A
person who is an employee of or assigned to work in any
correctional facility who has sexual intercourse or deviate
sexual intercourse with an inmate or resident of the facility is
guilty of the crime, which is a class D felony.  Consent of the
victim is not a defense for this crime;

(3)  Expands the crime of invasion of privacy, splitting the
offense into a first and second degree.  The current crime
(knowingly photographing another person in a state of full or
partial nudity in a place where that person has a reasonable
expectation of privacy without that person's consent) becomes
invasion of privacy in the second degree.  A person commits
invasion of privacy in the first degree if the defendant then
disseminates these photographs to another person or makes the
photographic image accessible by computer.  Invasion of privacy
in the first degree is a class D felony.  Invasion of privacy in
the second degree is a class A misdemeanor;

(4)  Creates the crime of sexual contact with a nursing home
resident.  Owners or employees of skilled nursing facilities or
Alzheimer's units that have sexual contact with a resident of the
facility commit a class B misdemeanor.  A subsequent offense is a
class A misdemeanor.  Any owner or employee having sexual
intercourse with a resident is guilty of a class A misdemeanor,
with subsequent offenses being a class D felony.  Consent of the
victim is not a defense.  This section does not apply to a person
married to a resident;

(5)  Creates the crime of unlawful sex with an animal.  The crime
is a class A misdemeanor, with a subsequent offense being a class
D felony.  A court may order forfeiture of the animals and
counseling for the offender.  The section does not prohibit any
generally accepted animal husbandry, farming, ranching, or
veterinary medical practices; and

(6)  Clarifies that "credible threat," as that term is defined in
the section making stalking a crime, may include communications
made by telephone or computer.

PROSECUTION AND PREVENTION OF SEX CRIMES

The bill:

(1)  Creates the Missouri Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory,
within the Department of Public Safety.  The laboratory will
combine local, state, and federal resources to research and
combat computer and Internet-related crimes;

(2)  Requires any person who may meet the criteria of a sexually
violent predator to be evaluated by either a psychiatrist or a
psychologist as to whether or not the person meets the definition
of a sexually violent predator;

(3)  Adds attempted forcible rape and attempted forcible sodomy
to the list of dangerous felonies if the victim suffers physical
injury;

(4)  Adds forcible sodomy, statutory sodomy, and statutory rape
to the list of crimes for which an appeal bond cannot be granted;
and

(5)  Requires parole boards to consider information listed on the
juvenile sex offenders registry if the offender being considered
for parole is between the ages of 17 and 21.

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

The bill:

(1)  Requires convicted sex offenders to register with the chief
law enforcement official of the county in which the sex offender
resides within 10 days of his or her conviction, release from
incarceration, or being placed on probation.  Current law
requires registration within 10 days of coming into any county;

(2)  Requires persons convicted of a sex offense in another state
or under federal jurisdiction since July 1, 1979, to register;

(3)  Requires all sex offenders who are not currently registered
to do so within 10 days of the effective date of the bill;

(4)  Amends the list of crimes requiring sex offender
registration by adding felonious restraint and by removing sexual
misconduct when the victim is not a minor; and

(5)  Authorizes the State Highway Patrol to provide youth service
agencies with the address and offense of registered sex offenders
who apply for employment at these agencies.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:04 am