Report Title:

Sexual Assault

 

Description:

Deletes knowledge of the age of a minor for purposes of sexual penetration and sexual contact with a minor; criminalizes subjecting to sexual penetration and sexual contact a minor who is age 14, if the actor is 19 years of age or older and not married to the minor. (SD2)

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

711

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to raise the age of consent from age fourteen to age fifteen by providing criminal penalties for persons who subject minors under the age of fifteen to sexual contact or penetration. In the interests of protecting children from sexual exploitation from adults, the legislature intends that knowledge of the minor’s age is not an element of the offense, nor is it a defense to the amended offenses provided herein. The legislature intends that persons committing the amended offenses of sexual assault in the second degree and sexual assault in the fourth degree against minors between the ages of fourteen and fifteen be strictly liable regarding knowledge of the victim’s age. The legislature finds this is in concert with its intent for strict liability as to the knowledge of the victim’s age for the current offenses of sexual assault in the first degree and sexual assault in the third degree. In addition, the legislature affirms the Hawaii State Supreme Court's reading of the legislature's intent to provide strict liability for the victim's age as applied to the offenses of sexual assault in the first degree and sexual assault in the third degree in State v. Buch, 83 Haw. 308 (1996) and declares its intent to provide similar strict liability for the amendments provided herein.

SECTION 2. Section 707-730, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

"(1) A person commits the offense of sexual assault in the first degree if:

(a) The person knowingly subjects another person to an act of sexual penetration by strong compulsion;

(b) The person [knowingly] subjects to sexual penetration another person who is less than fourteen years old;

(c) The person subjects to sexual penetration a minor who is fourteen years old; provided that the person who subjects the minor to sexual penetration is nineteen years of age or older and is not legally married to the minor;

provided [this paragraph] further that paragraphs (b) and (c) shall not be construed to prohibit practitioners licensed under chapter 453, 455, or 460, from performing any act within their respective practices."

SECTION 3. Section 707-732, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

"(1) A person commits the offense of sexual assault in the third degree if:

(a) The person recklessly subjects another person to an act of sexual penetration by compulsion;

(b) The person [knowingly] subjects to sexual contact another person who is less than fourteen years old or causes such a person to have sexual contact with the person;

(c) The person subjects to sexual contact a minor who is fourteen years old; provided that the person who subjects the minor to sexual penetration is nineteen years of age or older and is not legally married to the minor;

[(c)] (d) The person knowingly subjects to sexual contact another person who is mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, or causes such a person to have sexual contact with the actor; [or]

[(d)] (e) The person, while employed in a state correctional facility, knowingly subjects to sexual contact an imprisoned person or causes [such] the person to have sexual contact with the actor; or

[(e)] (f) The person knowingly, by strong compulsion, has sexual contact with another person or causes another person to have sexual contact with the actor;

provided that paragraphs (b), (c), [and] (d), and (e) shall not be construed to prohibit practitioners licensed under chapter 453, 455, or 460, from performing any act within their respective practices."

SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 5. The prosecuting attorney of each county shall maintain a record of all cases received and prosecuted under sections 707-730(1) and 707-732(1), Hawaii Revised Statutes, between the effective date of this Act and November 30, 2002. The department of the prosecuting attorney of the city and county of Honolulu shall submit its statistics to the legislative reference bureau no later than December 6, 2002, for the purposes of section 6 of this Act. A report from the prosecuting attorney of each county, containing a record of the above statistics, shall be submitted to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2003 regular session.

SECTION 6. The legislative reference bureau shall conduct a review of the effectiveness and impact of this Act, based partly on data provided by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu. The legislative reference bureau shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2003.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval and shall be repealed on June 30, 2003; provided that sections 707-730(1) and 707-732(1), Hawaii Revised Statutes, are reenacted in the form in which they read on the day before the approval of this Act.