AN ACT INCREASING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR SEXUAL CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 178E of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by section 20 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2006, is hereby further amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sentences:— Within 5 days of receiving upon sentence any sex offender required to register under sections 178C to 178Q, inclusive, the agency which has custody of the sex offender, including the department of correction, the department of youth services and each of the houses of correction, shall transmit to the board said sex offender’s registration data, which shall include identifying factors, anticipated future residence, any anticipated secondary addresses, offense history, documentation of any treatment received for a mental abnormality, the official version of any sex offenses, the mittimus, any prior incarceration history, and the projected maximum release date and the earliest possible release date for the sex offender. All custodial agencies shall inform the board immediately of any transfers of sex offenders so that there may be contact with the offender throughout the classification process. The bureau shall classify such a sex offender at least 10 days before the offender’s earliest possible release date.
SECTION 2. Section 178F of said chapter 6, as most recently amended by section 22 of said chapter 139, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 15 to 18, inclusive, the words “90 days with the board by mailing to the board on a form approved by the board and signed under the pains and penalties of perjury the sex offender's name, date of birth, home address, any secondary addresses” and inserting in place thereof the following words:— 45 days with the board by mailing to the board on a form approved by the board and signed under the pains and penalties of perjury the sex offender's name, date of birth, primary address, any secondary addresses.
SECTION 3. Section 178F½ of said chapter 6, as most recently amended by section 25 of said chapter 139, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 14 and 15, the words “90 days to verify that” and inserting in place thereof the following words:— 45 days to verify, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a) of section 178H of said chapter 6, as most recently amended by section 27 of said chapter 139, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:—
(3) Any person convicted under this subsection who is a level 2 or level 3 sex offender shall, in addition to the term of imprisonment authorized by this subsection, be subject to community parole supervision for life, to be served under the jurisdiction of the parole board, as set forth in section 133D of chapter 127. The sentence of community parole supervision for life shall commence immediately upon the expiration of the term of imprisonment imposed upon such person by the court or upon such person’s release from any post-release supervision or upon the expiration of a continuance without a finding or upon discharge from commitment to the treatment center under section 9 of chapter 123, whichever first occurs.
SECTION 5. Said section 178H of said chapter 6, as most recently amended by said section 27 of said chapter 139, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c).
SECTION 6. Subsection (2) of section 178K of said chapter 6, as most recently amended by section 31 of said chapter 139, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:—
(e) No sex offender classified as a level 3 offender shall knowingly and willingly establish living conditions within, move to, or transfer to any convalescent or nursing home, infirmary maintained in a town, rest home, charitable home for the aged or intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded which meets the requirements of the department of public health under section 71 of chapter 111. Any sex offender who violates this paragraph shall, for a first conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not more than 30 days in a jail or house of correction; for a second conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not more than 2½ years in a jail or house of correction nor more than 5 years in a state prison or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and for a third and subsequent conviction, be punished by imprisonment in a state prison for not less than 5 years; provided, however, that the sentence imposed for such third or subsequent conviction shall not be reduced to less than 5 years, nor suspended, nor shall any person sentenced herein be eligible for probation, parole, work release or furlough, or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served 5 years. Prosecutions commenced hereunder shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file.
SECTION 7. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 133D the following section:-
Section 133D½. Any person under court ordered parole supervision or under community parole supervision for life for any offense listed within the definition of “sex offense”, a “sex offense involving a child” or a “sexually violent offense”, as defined in section 178C of chapter 6, shall, as a requirement of such parole, wear a global positioning system device, or any comparable device, administered by the board at all times for the length of his parole for any such offense. The board shall, in addition to any other condition, establish defined geographic exclusion zones including, but not limited to, the areas in and around the victim’s residence, place of employment and school and other areas defined to minimize the parolee’s contact with children, if applicable. If the parolee enters an excluded zone, as defined by the terms of his parole, the parolee’s location data shall be immediately transmitted to the police department in the municipality wherein the violation occurred and the board, by telephone, electronic beeper, paging device or other appropriate means. If the board or the parolee’s parole officer believes that the parolee has violated his terms of parole by entering an excluded zone as prescribed in this section, the board or parole officer shall cause the parolee to be taken into temporary custody in accordance with section 149A of chapter 127.
The fees incurred by installing, maintaining and operating the global positioning system device, or comparable device, shall be paid by the parolee. If a parolee establishes his inability to pay such fees, the board may waive them.
SECTION 8. Chapter 265 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 47. Any person who is placed on probation for any offense listed within the definition of “sex offense”, a “sex offense involving a child” or a “sexually violent offense”, as defined in section 178C of chapter 6, shall, as a requirement of any term of probation, wear a global positioning system device, or any comparable device, administered by the commissioner of probation, at all times for the length of his probation for any such offense. The commissioner of probation, in addition to any other conditions, shall establish defined geographic exclusion zones including, but not limited to, the areas in and around the victim’s residence, place of employment and school and other areas defined to minimize the probationer’s contact with children, if applicable. If the probationer enters an excluded zone, as defined by the terms of his probation, the probationer’s location data shall be immediately transmitted to the police department in the municipality wherein the violation occurred and the commissioner of probation, by telephone, electronic beeper, paging device or other appropriate means. If the commissioner or the probationer’s probation officer has probable cause to believe that the probationer has violated this term of his probation, the commissioner or the probationer’s probation officer shall arrest the probationer pursuant to section 3 of chapter 279. Otherwise, the commissioner shall cause a notice of surrender to be issued to such probationer.
The fees incurred by installing, maintaining and operating the global positioning system device, or comparable device, shall be paid by the probationer. If an offender establishes his inability to pay such fees, the court may waive them.
SECTION 9. Chapter 277 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 63, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 63. An indictment for murder may be found at any time after the death of the person alleged to have been murdered. An indictment or complaint for an offense set forth in section 13B, 13F, 13L, 22A, 23 or 24B of chapter 265, for conspiracy to commit any of these offenses, as an accessory thereto, or any 1 or more of them may be found and filed at any time after the date of the commission of such offense; but any indictment or complaint found and filed more than 27 years after the date of commission of such offense shall be supported by independent evidence that corroborates the victim’s allegation. Such independent evidence shall be admissible during trial and shall not consist exclusively of the opinions of mental health professionals. An indictment for an offense set forth in sections 22 and 24 of chapter 265, or for conspiracy to commit either of these offenses or as an accessory thereto or any 1 or more of them may be found and filed within 15 years of the date of commission of such offense. An indictment for an offense set forth in sections 17, 18, 19 and 21 of said chapter 265 or section 17 of chapter 272, for conspiracy to commit any such crime, as an accessory thereto, or any 1 or more of them may be found and filed within 10 years after the date of commission of such offense. An indictment for any other crime shall be found and filed within 6 years after such crime has been committed. Any period during which the defendant is not usually and publicly a resident within the commonwealth shall be excluded in determining the time limited.
Notwithstanding the first paragraph, if a victim of a crime set forth in section 13B, 13F, 13H, 22, 22A, 23, 24B, or 26A of chapter 265, or section 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 26, 28, 29A, 29B, 33, 34, 35 or 35A of chapter 272 is under the age of 16 at the time the crime is committed, the period of limitation for prosecution shall not commence until the victim has reached the age of 16 or the violation is reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs earlier.
SECTION 10. Section 368 of chapter 26 of the acts of 2003 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 18, the figure “$50” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- $75.
Approved September 21, 2006.