House of
Representatives
HB 2342
unlawful sexual conduct involving prisoners
Sponsors: Representative Burns J, Representative Alvarez,
Representative Hershberger et al.
HB 2342 expands the list of persons who are prohibited from engaging in sexual contact with prisoners and decriminalizes the act of a prisoner engaging in sexual contact with a person affiliated with a corrections facility. HB 2342 makes engaging in prostitution with a person under 18 years of age as a Class 2 felony and expands the definition of a dangerous crime against children to include luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
History
A.R.S. § 13-1419 makes it unlawful for prisoners and employees at a correctional facility to engage in sexual contact. The definition currently includes persons who are employed by:
· The state Department of Corrections (ADC).
· The Department of Juvenile Corrections.
· A private prison facility.
· A city or county jail.
The penalty for unlawful sexual contact under this section is:
· A Class 2 felony (presumptive term of incarceration is 5 years) if the person is under the age of 15.
· A Class 3 felony (presumptive term of incarceration is 3.5 years) if the person is between the ages of 15 and 17.
· A Class 5 felony (presumptive term of incarceration is 1.5 years) if the person is over the age of 17.
A.R.S. § 13-3212 defines child prostitution and makes a violation a Class 2 felony, punishable as a dangerous crime against children (A.R.S. § 13-604.01) if the victim is under the age of 15. Under this section, prostitution is defined as engaging in or agreeing or offering to engage in sexual conduct with another person under a fee arrangement with that person or any other person. (A.R.S. § 13-3211)
A.R.S. § 13-604.01 contains a list of offenses that if committed against a person under 15 years old, constitute dangerous crimes against children (DCAC). DCAC offenses are subject to several sentencing enhancements and consist primarily of sex offenses. Luring a minor for sexual exploitation is not currently contained in the definition of a DCAC, but an enhanced sentence for the offense is provided in A.R.S. § 13-604.01.
Provisions
Unlawful Sexual Contact with Prisoners
· Expands the list of persons prohibited from engaging in any act of a sexual nature with a prisoner to include:
- Official visitors
- Volunteers
- Agency representatives
- Contract employees
· Strikes the current law that makes a prisoner guilty of unlawful sexual conduct.
· Replaces the current reference to oral sexual contact, sexual contact, or sexual intercourse with any act of sexual nature. Defines any act of sexual nature.
· Makes technical and conforming changes.
Child Prostitution
Penalties
· Makes engaging in prostitution with a person under 18 years old a Class 2 felony.
· Requires a person convicted of engaging in child prostitution to serve at least 30 days in jail if the person is sentenced to probation. Provides that the jail term cannot be deleted, deferred or suspended and must commence on the date of sentencing. Exempts a person sentenced to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
· Provides an enhanced sentence for specific child prostitution offenses.
· Requires the sentence for sex trafficking of a minor or child prostitution to be consecutive to any other sentence imposed on a person.
Defenses
· Modifies the current defense for child prostitution so that it is only applicable to a person who engages in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years old if the person could not reasonably have known the age of the minor.
Miscellaneous
· Modifies the definition of prostitution to include offering to pay for sexual conduct under a fee arrangement with any person for money or any other valuable consideration.
· Strikes the requirement that transporting or financing the transportation of any minor for prostitution be done through or across the state.
· Expands the definition of a serious offense in A.R.S. § 13-604 to include child prostitution.
· Contains an emergency clause.
· Makes technical and conforming changes.
Luring a Minor for Sexual Exploitation
· Expands the definition of a dangerous crime against children (DCAC) to include luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
· Separates the existing penalty within the DCAC section for luring a minor into a separate section. Keeps the same presumptive ten year penalty, but specifies that if a person has a prior predicate felony, the person must be sentenced to a presumptive of 15 years.
· Makes technical and conforming changes.
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· Forty-eighth Legislature
· First Regular Session 2 June 12, 2007
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