Amendment ID: S2465-2-R1

Redraft Amendment 2

Age of consent in certain criminal prosecutions for sexual assault and rape of a child

Ms. Lovely moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

SECTION XXXX: SECTION 1 of Chapter 268 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 21A, as so appearing, the following paragraph:

Section 21B.  Any person who is employed by or contracts with any public or private school, , or the department of youth services, the department of children and families, the department of mental health, the department of developmental services, or any private institution providing services to clients of such departments, and who, in the course of such employment or contract or as a result thereof, engages in sexual abuse of a person under the age of 19 who is served by such school, department or institution, within or outside of such school, department or institution, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years in a state prison or by a fine of $10,000 or both. In a prosecution commenced under this section, an individual served by such school, department or institution shall be deemed incapable of consent to sexual relations with such person.

Any person who is employed or contracted by an institution of higher learning, and who, in the course of such employment or as a result thereof, engages in sexual abuse of a person who is 19 years of age or under who has not received a high school diploma, a general educational development certificate, or an equivalent document and who is enrolled in or attending the college or university at which the person is employed, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years in a state prison or by a fine of $10,000 or both. . In a prosecution commenced under this section, an individual served by such institution shall be deemed incapable of consent to sexual relations with such person. For purposes of this section, sexual relations shall be defined as that term is used of chapter 260, section 4C.

The provisions of this section do not apply to a person who is married to the pupil.

The provisions of this section do not to apply to sexual conduct between two pupils.

SECTION 2 of Chapter 265, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 23 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 23. Whoever has sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 years of age and: (a) The defendant is more than 4 years older than the minor, or (b) The minor is under 15 years of age and the defendant is more than 3 years older than the minor; or (c) The minor is under 12 years of age and the defendant is more than 2 years older than the minor, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state for life or for any term of years, or, except as otherwise provided, for any term in a jail or house of correction, provided, however, that a prosecution commenced under this section shall not be placed on file or continued without a finding.

Notwithstanding the  provisions of section 54 of Chapter 119 or any other general or special law to the contrary, in a prosecution under this section in which the defendant is under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the commonwealth shall only proceed by complaint in a juvenile court or in a juvenile session of a district court.