Download Zipped Introduced WP 9 HB0181S1.ZIP 9,915 Bytes
[Status][Bill Documents][Fiscal Note][Bills Directory]

First Substitute H.B. 181

Representative Duane E. Bourdeaux proposes to substitute the following bill:


             1     
PENALTIES FOR SOLICITING MINORS

             2     
2001 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Sponsor: Duane E. Bourdeaux

             5      This act modifies the Criminal Code to create the offense and penalties regarding enticing
             6      a minor over the Internet for sexual activity.
             7      This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
             8      AMENDS:
             9          77-27-21.5, as last amended by Chapter 201, Laws of Utah 2000
             10      ENACTS:
             11          76-4-401, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             12      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             13          Section 1. Section 76-4-401 is enacted to read:
             14          76-4-401. Enticing a minor over the Internet -- Elements -- Penalties.
             15          (1) A person commits enticement of a minor over the Internet when, not amounting to an
             16      attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation under Section 76-4-101 , 76-4-201 , or 76-4-203 , the person
             17      knowingly uses a computer to solicit, seduce, lure, or entice, or attempt to solicit, seduce, lure, or
             18      entice a minor or a person the defendant believes to be a minor to engage in any sexual activity
             19      which is a violation of state criminal law.
             20          (2) It is not a defense to the crime of enticing a minor under Subsection (1), or an attempt
             21      to commit this offense, that a law enforcement officer or an undercover operative who is working
             22      with a law enforcement agency was involved in the detection or investigation of the offense.
             23          (3) An enticement of a minor under Subsection (1) with the intent to commit:
             24          (a) a first degree felony is a second degree felony;
             25          (b) a second degree felony is a third degree felony;


             26          (c) a third degree felony is a class A misdemeanor;
             27          (d) a class A misdemeanor is a class B misdemeanor; and
             28          (e) a class B misdemeanor is a class C misdemeanor.
             29          Section 2. Section 77-27-21.5 is amended to read:
             30           77-27-21.5. Sex offender registration -- Information system -- Law enforcement and
             31      courts to report -- Registration -- Penalty -- Effect of expungement.
             32          (1) As used in this section:
             33          (a) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
             34          (b) "Notification" means a person's acquisition of information from the department about
             35      a sex offender, including his place of habitation, physical description, and methodology of the
             36      offense, and other information as provided in Subsections (10) and (11).
             37          (c) "Register" means to comply with the rules of the department made under this section.
             38          (d) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state or who enters a plea in
             39      abeyance for violating Section 76-4-401 , 76-7-102 , 76-9-702.5 , 76-5a-3 , 76-10-1306 , or
             40      76-5-301.1 or of committing or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit a felony, under
             41      Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses, and any person convicted by any other state or the
             42      United States government of an offense which if committed or attempted in this state would be
             43      punishable as one or more of these offenses. "Sex offender" also means all persons committed to
             44      a state mental hospital by reason of their mental incapacity and their commission or alleged
             45      commission of one or more offenses listed in this Subsection (1)(d).
             46          (2) The department, to assist in investigating sex-related crimes and in apprehending
             47      offenders, shall:
             48          (a) develop and operate a system to collect, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information
             49      on sex offenders and sex offenses; and
             50          (b) make information collected and developed under this section available to the public.
             51          (3) Any law enforcement agency shall, in the manner prescribed by the department, inform
             52      the department of:
             53          (a) the receipt of a report or complaint of an offense listed in Subsection (1)(d), within
             54      three working days; and
             55          (b) the arrest of a person suspected of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d),
             56      within five working days.


             57          (4) Upon convicting a person of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d), or any
             58      lesser included offense, the convicting court shall within three working days forward a copy of the
             59      judgment and sentence to the department.
             60          (5) A sex offender in the custody of the department shall be registered by agents of the
             61      department upon:
             62          (a) being placed on probation;
             63          (b) commitment to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract to the
             64      department;
             65          (c) release from confinement to parole status, termination or expiration of sentence, or
             66      escape;
             67          (d) entrance to and release from any community-based residential program operated by or
             68      under contract to the department; or
             69          (e) termination of probation or parole.
             70          (6) A sex offender not in the custody of the department who is confined in a correctional
             71      facility not operated by or under contract to the department shall, upon release from confinement,
             72      be registered with the department by the sheriff of the county in which the offender is confined.
             73          (7) A sex offender confined in a state mental hospital shall be registered with the
             74      department by the hospital. A sex offender committed to a state mental hospital shall be registered
             75      with the department by the hospital upon admission and upon discharge.
             76          (8) A sex offender shall, for ten years after termination of sentence, register annually and
             77      again within ten days of every change of his place of habitation.
             78          (9) An agency that registers a sex offender on parole shall inform him of his duty to
             79      comply with the continuing registration requirements of this section, including:
             80          (a) notification to an out-of-state agency of moving across state lines;
             81          (b) notification to the state agencies in the states where the registrant presently resides and
             82      plans to reside when moving across state lines; and
             83          (c) verification of address at least every 60 days pursuant to a parole agreement for lifetime
             84      parolees.
             85          (10) A sex offender shall provide the department with the following information:
             86          (a) all names or aliases the sex offender is or has been known by;
             87          (b) the sex offender's name and address;


             88          (c) a physical description, including the sex offender's age, height, weight, eye and hair
             89      color;
             90          (d) the type of vehicle or vehicles the sex offender drives; and
             91          (e) a current photograph of the sex offender.
             92          (11) The department shall provide the following additional information:
             93          (a) the crimes the sex offender was charged with and convicted of;
             94          (b) a description of the sex offender's primary and secondary targets; and
             95          (c) a description of the sex offender's method of offense.
             96          (12) (a) A sex offender who knowingly fails to register under this section is guilty of a
             97      class A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of incarceration for not fewer than 90
             98      days and also at least one year of probation.
             99          (b) Neither the court nor the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a person who
             100      violates this section from serving a term of at least 90 days and of completing probation of at least
             101      one year. This Subsection (12)(b) supersedes any other provision of the law contrary to this
             102      section.
             103          (13) Notwithstanding Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management
             104      Act, information in Subsections (10) and (11) collected and released under this section is public
             105      information.
             106          (14) (a) If a sex offender is to be temporarily sent outside a secure facility in which he is
             107      confined on any assignment, including, without limitation, firefighting or disaster control, the
             108      official who has custody of the offender shall, within a reasonable time prior to removal from the
             109      secure facility, notify the local law enforcement agencies where the assignment is to be filled.
             110          (b) This Subsection (14) does not apply to any person temporarily released under guard
             111      from the institution in which he is confined.
             112          (15) Notwithstanding Sections 77-18-9 through 77-18-14 regarding expungement, a person
             113      convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (1)(d) is not relieved from the responsibility to
             114      register under this section.
             115          (16) Notwithstanding Section 42-1-1 , a sex offender may not change his name while under
             116      the jurisdiction of the department and until the registration requirements of this statute have
             117      expired.
             118          (17) The department may make rules necessary to implement this section, including:


             119          (a) the method for dissemination of the information; and
             120          (b) instructions to the public regarding the use of the information.
             121          (18) Any information regarding the identity or location of a victim shall be redacted by the
             122      department from information provided under Subsections (10) and (11).
             123          (19) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or impose any duty on any person
             124      to request or obtain information regarding any sex offender from the department.
             125          (20) If the department chooses to post registry information on the Internet, the website
             126      shall contain a disclaimer informing the public of the following:
             127          (a) the information contained on the site is obtained from sex offenders and the department
             128      does not guarantee its accuracy;
             129          (b) members of the public are not allowed to publicize the information or use it to harass
             130      or threaten sex offenders or members of their families; and
             131          (c) harassment, stalking, or threats against sex offenders or their families are prohibited
             132      and doing so may violate Utah criminal laws.
             133          (21) The department shall construct the website so that users, before accessing registry
             134      information, must indicate that they have read the disclaimer, understand it, and agree to comply
             135      with its terms.
             136          (22) The department, its personnel, and any individual or entity acting at the request or
             137      upon the direction of the department are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith
             138      compliance with this section and will be presumed to have acted in good faith by reporting
             139      information.
             140          (23) The department shall redact information that, if disclosed, could reasonably identify
             141      a victim.
             142          (24) The website may also include information about sex offenders ordered to accept
             143      notification of their registry information as part of a condition of probation or parole.


[Bill Documents][Bills Directory]