House Passes Jessica's Law-Sent to Senate
House Passes “Jessica’s Law” I am so pleased to tell you that, after three years of struggle and political wrangling, the NC House just unanimously passed “Jessica Lunsford Act for NC.” This Bill will help protect our children and punish those who hurt them. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2007 H 2 HOUSE BILL 933 Committee Substitute Favorable 7/28/07 | Short Title: Jessica Lunsford Act for NC. | (Public) | | Sponsors: | | | Referred to: | | | | | | March 21, 2007 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT to provide that certain criminal offenses of rape or firstdegree sexual offense committed against a child are punishable by either life imprisonment without parole or a mandatory active sentence of twentyfive years and lifetime satellitebased monitoring, to increase the criminal penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor and promoting prostitution of a minor, to amend the sex offender registration requirements to be more stringent, to require community notification regarding the presence of a sexually violent predator or repeat sex offender, to amend the law regarding bail for violations of probation and postrelease supervision, to create a new criminal offense that makes it unlawful for a sex offender to be on certain premises, and to require sex offender registries checks of contractual personnel before allowing them to have direct interaction with students. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. G.S. 1427.2 reads as rewritten: "§ 1427.2. Firstdegree rape. (a) A person is guilty of rape in the first degree if the person engages in vaginal intercourse: (1) With a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years and the defendant is at least 12 years old and is at least four years older than the victim; or (2) With another person by force and against the will of the other person, and: a. Employs or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or b. Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or c. The person commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons. (a1) A person is guilty of rape in the first degree if the person is at least 18 years of age and engages in vaginal intercourse with a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years. (b) Any person who commits an offense defined in subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a Class B1 felony. (b1) Any person who commits an offense defined in subsection (a1) of this section is guilty of a Class B1 felony. Notwithstanding G.S. 15A1340.17 or any other provision of law, the court, in its discretion, shall impose one of the following sentences on a person convicted of an offense under subsection (a1) of this section: (1) Life imprisonment without parole; or (2) Twentyfive years mandatory active punishment to be followed by satellitebased monitoring for life pursuant to Part 5 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. (c) Upon conviction, a person convicted under this section has no rights to custody of or rights of inheritance from any child born as a result of the commission of the rape, nor shall the person have any rights related to the child under Chapter 48 or Subchapter 1 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes." SECTION 2. G.S. 1427.4 reads as rewritten: "§ 1427.4. Firstdegree sexual offense. (a) A person is guilty of a sexual offense in the first degree if the person engages in a sexual act: (1) With a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years and the defendant is at least 12 years old and is at least four years older than the victim; or (2) With another person by force and against the will of the other person, and: a. Employs or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or b. Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or c. The person commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons. (a1) A person is guilty of sexual offense in the first degree if the person is at least 18 years of age and engages in a sexual act with a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years. (b) Any person who commits an offense defined in subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a Class B1 felony. (b1) Any person who commits an offense defined in subsection (a1) of this section is guilty of a Class B1 felony. Notwithstanding G.S. 15A1340.17 or any other provision of law, the court, in its discretion, shall impose one of the following sentences on a person convicted of an offense under subsection (a1) of this section: (1) Life imprisonment without parole; or (2) Twentyfive years mandatory active punishment to be followed by satellitebased monitoring for life pursuant to Part 5 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes." SECTION 3. G.S. 14190.16(d) reads as rewritten: "(d) Punishment and Sentencing. – Violation of this section is a Class D felony.Class C felony." SECTION 4. G.S. 14190.17(d) reads as rewritten: "(d) Punishment and Sentencing. – Violation of this section is a Class F felony.Class E felony." SECTION 5. G.S. 14190.17A(d) reads as rewritten: "(d) Punishment and Sentencing. – Violation of this section is a Class I felony.Class H felony." SECTION 6. G.S. 14190.18(c) reads as rewritten: "(c) Punishment and Sentencing. – Violation of this section is a Class D felony.Class C felony." SECTION 7. G.S. 14208.6A reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.6A. Lifetime registration requirements for criminal offenders. It is the objective of the General Assembly to establish a 10year 30year registration requirement for persons convicted of certain offenses against minors or sexually violent offenses.offenses with an opportunity for those persons to petition in superior court to shorten their registration time period after 10 years of registration. It is the further objective of the General Assembly to establish a more stringent set of registration requirements for recidivists, persons who commit aggravated offenses, and for a subclass of highly dangerous sex offenders who are determined by a sentencing court with the assistance of a board of experts to be sexually violent predators. To accomplish this objective, there are established two registration programs: the Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Program and the Sexually Violent Predator Registration Program. Any person convicted of an offense against a minor or of a sexually violent offense as defined by this Article shall register in person as an offender in accordance with Part 2 of this Article. Any person who is a recidivist, who commits an aggravated offense, or who is determined to be a sexually violent predator shall register in person as such in accordance with Part 3 of this Article. The information obtained under these programs shall be immediately shared with the appropriate local, State, federal, and outofstate law enforcement officials and penal institutions. In addition, the information designated under G.S. 14208.10(a) as public record shall be readily available to and accessible by the public. However, the identity of the victim is not public record and shall not be released as a public record." SECTION 8. G.S. 14208.7 reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.7. Registration. (a) A person who is a State resident and who has a reportable conviction shall be required to maintain registration with the sheriff of the county where the person resides. If the person moves to North Carolina from outside this State, the person shall register within 10 days three business days of establishing residence in this State, or whenever the person has been present in the State for 15 days, whichever comes first. If the person is a current resident of North Carolina, the person shall register: (1) Within 10 days three business days of release from a penal institution or arrival in a county to live outside a penal institution; or (2) Immediately upon conviction for a reportable offense where an active term of imprisonment was not imposed. Registration shall be maintained for a period of at least 10 years30 years following the date of initial county registration.registration unless the person, after 10 years of registration, successfully petitions the superior court to shorten his or her registration time period under G.S. 14208.12A. (a1) A person who is a nonresident student or a nonresident worker and who has a reportable conviction, or is required to register in the person's state of residency, is required to maintain registration with the sheriff of the county where the person works or attends school. In addition to the information required under subsection (b) of this section, the person shall also provide information regarding the person's school or place of employment as appropriate and the person's address in his or her state of residence. (b) The Division shall provide each sheriff with forms for registering persons as required by this Article. The registration form shall require: (1) The person's full name, each alias, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, eye color, hair color, drivers license number, and home address; (2) The type of offense for which the person was convicted, the date of conviction, and the sentence imposed; (3) A current photograph; (4) The person's fingerprints; (5) A statement indicating whether the person is a student or expects to enroll as a student within a year of registering. If the person is a student or expects to enroll as a student within a year of registration, then the registration form shall also require the name and address of the educational institution at which the person is a student or expects to enroll as a student; and (6) A statement indicating whether the person is employed or expects to be employed at an institution of higher education within a year of registering. If the person is employed or expects to be employed at an institution of higher education within a year of registration, then the registration form shall also require the name and address of the educational institution at which the person is or expects to be employed. The sheriff shall photograph the individual at the time of registration and take fingerprints from the individual at the time of registration both of which will be kept as part of the registration form. The registrant will not be required to pay any fees for the photograph or fingerprints taken at the time of registration. (c) When a person registers, the sheriff with whom the person registered shall immediately send the registration information to the Division in a manner determined by the Division. The sheriff shall retain the original registration form and other information collected and shall compile the information that is a public record under this Part into a county registry. (d) Any person required to register under this section shall report in person at the appropriate sheriff's office to comply with the registration requirements set out in this section. The sheriff shall provide the registrant with written proof of registration at the time of registration." SECTION 9. G.S. 14208.9 reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.9. Change of address; change of academic status or educational employment status. (a) If a person required to register changes address, the person shall report in person and provide written notice of the new address not later than the tenth day the third business day after the change to the sheriff of the county with whom the person had last registered. Upon receipt of the notice, the sheriff shall immediately forward this information to the Division. If the person moves to another county in this State, the Division shall inform the sheriff of the new county of the person's new residence. (b) If a person required to register intends to move to another state, the person shall report in person to the sheriff of the county of current residence at least 10 days three business days before the date the person intends to leave this State to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction. The person shall provide to the sheriff a written notification that includes all of the following information: the address, municipality, county, and state of intended residence. (1) If it appears to the sheriff that the record photograph of the sex offender no longer provides a true and accurate likeness of the sex offender, then the sheriff shall take a photograph of the offender to update the registration. (2) The sheriff shall inform the person that the person must comply with the registration requirements in the new state of residence. The sheriff shall also immediately forward the information included in the notification to the Division, and the Division shall inform the appropriate state official in the state to which the registrant moves of the person's notification and new address. (b1) A person who indicates his or her intent to reside in another state or jurisdiction and later decides to remain in this State shall, within 10 daysthree business days after the date upon which the person indicated he or she would leave this State, report in person to the sheriff's office to which the person reported the intended change of residence, of his or her intent to remain in this State. If the sheriff is notified by the sexual offender that he or she intends to remain in this State, the sheriff shall promptly report this information to the Division. (c) If a person required to register changes his or her academic status either by enrolling as a student or by terminating enrollment as a student, then the person shall, within 10 days,three business days report in person to the sheriff of the county with whom the person registered and provide written notice of the person's new status. The written notice shall include the name and address of the institution of higher education at which the student is or was enrolled. The sheriff shall immediately forward this information to the Division. (d) If a person required to register changes his or her employment status either by obtaining employment at an institution of higher education or by terminating employment at an institution of higher education, then the person shall, within 10 days,three business days report in person to the sheriff of the county with whom the person registered and provide written notice of the person's new status not later than the tenth day after the change to the sheriff of the county with whom the person registered. The written notice shall include the name and address of the institution of higher education at which the person is or was employed. The sheriff shall immediately forward this information to the Division." SECTION 10. G.S. 14208.9A reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.9A. Verification of registration information. (a) The information in the county registry shall be verified semiannually for each registrant as follows: (1) Every year on the anniversary of a person's initial registration date, and again six months after that date, the Division shall mail a nonforwardable verification form to the last reported address of the person. (2) The person shall return the verification form in person to the sheriff within 10 daysthree business days after the receipt of the form. (3) The verification form shall be signed by the person and shall indicate whether the person still resides at the address last reported to the sheriff. If the person has a different address, then the person shall indicate that fact and the new address. (3a) If it appears to the sheriff that the record photograph of the sex offender no longer provides a true and accurate likeness of the sex offender, then the sheriff shall take a photograph of the offender to include with the verification form. (4) If the person fails to return the verification form in person to the sheriff within 10 daysthree business days after receipt of the form, the person is subject to the penalties provided in G.S. 14208.11. If the person fails to report in person and provide the written verification as provided by this section, the sheriff shall make a reasonable attempt to verify that the person is residing at the registered address. If the person cannot be found at the registered address and has failed to report a change of address, the person is subject to the penalties provided in G.S. 14208.11, unless the person reports in person to the sheriff and proves that the person has not changed his or her residential address. (b) Additional Verification May Be Required. – During the period that an offender is required to be registered under this Article, the sheriff is authorized to attempt to verify that the offender continues to reside at the address last registered by the offender. (c) Additional Photograph May Be Required. – If it appears to the sheriff that the current photograph of the sex offender no longer provides a true and accurate likeness of the sex offender, upon inperson notice from the sheriff, the sex offender shall allow the sheriff to take another photograph of the sex offender at the time of the sheriff's request. If requested by the sheriff, the sex offender shall appear in person at the sheriff's office during normal business hours within 72 hoursthree business days of being requested to do so and shall allow the sheriff to take another photograph of the sex offender. A person who willfully fails to comply with this subsection is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor." SECTION 11. G.S. 14208.12A reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.12A. Request for termination of registration requirement. (a) A Ten years from the date of initial county registration, a person required to register under this Part may petition the superior court in the district where the person resides to terminate the 30-year registration requirement 10 years from the date of initial county registration if the person has not been convicted of a subsequent offense requiring registration under this Article. (a1) The court may grant the relief if: (1) The petitioner demonstrates to the court that he or she has not been arrested for any crime that would require registration under this Article since completing the sentence, (2) The requested relief complies with the provisions of the federal Jacob Wetterling Act, as amended, and any other federal standards applicable to the termination of a registration requirement or required to be met as a condition for the receipt of federal funds by the State, and (3) The court is otherwise satisfied that the petitioner is not a current or potential threat to public safety. (a2) The district attorney in the district in which the petition is filed shall be given notice of the petition at least three weeks before the hearing on the matter. The petitioner may present evidence in support of the petition and the district attorney may present evidence in opposition to the requested relief or may otherwise demonstrate the reasons why the petition should be denied. (a3) If the court denies the petition, the person may again petition the court for relief in accordance with this section one year from the date of the denial of the original petition to terminate the registration requirement. If the court grants the petition to terminate the registration requirement, the clerk of court shall forward a certified copy of the order to the Division to have the person's name removed from the registry. (b) If there is a subsequent offense, the county registration records shall be retained until the registration requirement for the subsequent offense is terminated by the court under subsection (a1) of this section." SECTION 12. Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: "§ 14208.18. Unlawful for sex offender to be on premises that a reasonable person knows are places where children regularly congregate without adult supervision. (a) It is unlawful for any person convicted of an offense that requires registration under this Article to be on a premise that a reasonable person knows is a place where children regularly congregate without adult supervision. (b) A violation of this section is a Class H felony." SECTION 13. Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: "§ 14208.25A. Community and public notification. The licensee for each licensed day care center, and the principal of each elementary school, middle school, and high school shall register with the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry to receive e-mail notification when a registered sex offender moves within a one-mile radius of the licensed day care center or school." SECTION 14. G.S. 14208.27 reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.27. Change of address. If a juvenile who is adjudicated delinquent and required to register changes address, the juvenile court counselor for the juvenile shall provide written notice of the new address not later than the tenth daythe third business day after the change to the sheriff of the county with whom the juvenile had last registered. Upon receipt of the notice, the sheriff shall immediately forward this information to the Division. If the juvenile moves to another county in this State, the Division shall inform the sheriff of the new county of the juvenile's new residence." SECTION 15. G.S. 14208.28 reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.28. Verification of registration information. The information provided to the sheriff shall be verified semiannually for each juvenile registrant as follows: (1) Every year on the anniversary of a juvenile's initial registration date and six months after that date, the sheriff shall mail a verification form to the juvenile court counselor assigned to the juvenile. (2) The juvenile court counselor for the juvenile shall return the verification form to the sheriff within 10 daysthree business days after the receipt of the form. (3) The verification form shall be signed by the juvenile court counselor and the juvenile and shall indicate whether the juvenile still resides at the address last reported to the sheriff. If the juvenile has a different address, then that fact and the new address shall be indicated on the form." SECTION 16. G.S. 14208.40(a) reads as rewritten: "(a) The Department of Correction shall establish a sex offender monitoring program that uses a continuous satellitebased monitoring system and shall create guidelines to govern the program. The program shall be designed to monitor two three categories of offenders as follows: (1) Any offender who is convicted of a reportable conviction as defined by G.S. 14208.6(4) and who is required to register under Part 3 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes because the defendant is classified as a sexually violent predator, is a recidivist, or was convicted of an aggravated offense as those terms are defined in G.S. 14208.6. An offender in this category who is ordered by the court to submit to satellitebased monitoring is subject to that requirement for the person's natural life, unless the requirement is terminated pursuant to G.S. 14208.43. (2) Any offender who satisfies all of the following criteria: (i) is convicted of a reportable conviction as defined by G.S. 14208.6(4), (ii) is required to register under Part 2 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, (iii) has committed an offense involving the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a minor, and (iv) based on the Department's risk assessment program requires the highest possible level of supervision and monitoring. An offender in this category who is ordered by the court to submit to satellitebased monitoring is subject to that requirement only for the period of time ordered by the court and is not subject to a requirement of lifetime satellitebased monitoring. (3) Any offender who is convicted of any of the following offenses and sentenced to a term of 25 years active punishment and satellitebased monitoring for the duration of the defendant's natural life pursuant to: a. G.S. 1424.2(a1)(Firstdegree rape of a child less than 13 years of age by an offender who is at least 18 years of age). b. G.S. 1424.4(a1)(Firstdegree sexual offense of a child less than 13 years of age by an offender who is at least 18 years of age)." SECTION 17. G.S. 14208.41 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: "(c) Any person described by G.S. 14208.40(a)(3), upon completion of the 25 years of active punishment shall enroll in a satellitebased monitoring program with the Division of Community Corrections office in the county where the person resides. The person shall enroll in the satellitebased monitoring program for the entire period of postrelease supervision and shall remain enrolled in the satellitebased monitoring program for the person's life, unless the requirement to enroll in the satellitebased monitoring program is terminated pursuant to G.S. 14208.42." SECTION 18. G.S. 14208.42 reads as rewritten: "§ 14208.42. Lifetime registration offenders required to submit to satellitebased monitoring for life and to continue on unsupervised probation upon completion of sentence. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the court sentences an offender who is in the category described by G.S. 14208.40(a)(1) for a reportable conviction as defined by G.S. 14208.6(4), or an offender who is in the category described by G.S. 14208.40(a)(3), and orders the offender to enroll in a satellitebased monitoring program, the court shall also order that the offender, upon completion of the offender's sentence and any term of parole, postrelease supervision, intermediate punishment, or supervised probation that follows the sentence, continue to be enrolled in the satellitebased monitoring program for the offender's life and be placed on unsupervised probation unless the requirement that the person enroll in a satellitebased monitoring program is terminated pursuant to G.S. 14208.43." SECTION 19. G.S. 14208.43(a) reads as rewritten: "(a) An offender described by G.S. 14308.40(a)(1)14208.40(a)(1) or G.S. 14208.40(a)(3) who is required to submit to satellitebased monitoring for the offender's life may file a request for termination of monitoring requirement with the PostRelease Supervision and Parole Commission. The request to terminate the satellitebased monitoring requirement and to terminate the accompanying requirement of unsupervised probation may not be submitted until at least one year after the offender: (i) has served his or her sentence for the offense for which the satellitebased monitoring requirement was imposed, and (ii) has also completed any period of probation, parole, or postrelease supervision imposed as part of the sentence." SECTION 20. G.S. 15A1345(b) reads as rewritten: "(b) Bail Following Arrest for Probation Violation. – If at any time during the period of probation the probationer is arrested for a violation of any of the conditions of probation, he must be taken without unnecessary delay before a judicial official to have conditions of release pending a revocation hearing set in the same manner as provided in G.S. 15A534. If the probationer has been convicted of an offense at any time that requires registration under Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes or an offense that would have required registration but for the effective date of the law establishing the Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Program, the court must make a finding that the probationer is not a danger to the public prior to release with or without bail." SECTION 21. G.S. 15A1368.4 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: "(b1) Bail Following Arrest for Violation of PostRelease Supervision if Releasee is a Sex Offender. – Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, if the releasee has been convicted of an offense that requires registration under Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes and is arrested for a violation in accordance with this section, the releasee shall be detained without bond until the preliminary hearing is conducted." SECTION 22. Part 6 of Article 22 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: "§ 115C332A. Sex offender registries checks for certain contractual personnel. (a) For purposes of this section, the term "contractual personnel" includes any individual or entity under contract with the local board of education whose contractual job involves direct interaction with students as part of the job. (b) Each local board of education shall require, as a term of any contract the local board of education enters, that employers of a person who is contractual personnel conduct an annual check of that person on the State Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Program, the State Sexually Violent Predator Registration Program, and the National Sex Offender Registry. As a term of any contract, a local board of education shall prohibit any contractual personnel listed on the State Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Program, the State Sexually Violent Predator Registration Program, and the National Sex Offender Registry from having direct interaction with students." SECTION 23. This act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. The maintenance of the registration period of 30 years required by G.S. 14208.7, as amended by Section 8 of this act, applies to registrations made on or after December 1, 2007.
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