Chapter 207

2006 -- H 7040 SUBSTITUTE B AS AMENDED

Enacted 06/28/06

A N A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- CHILDREN -- SEXUAL OFFENDER

REGISTRATION AND COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION -- "THE JESSICA LUNSFORD ACT"

Introduced By: Representatives Palumbo, Trillo, Giannini, Lima, and Lally

Date Introduced: February 01, 2006

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 11-37 of the General Laws entitled "Sexual Assault" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following section:

11-37-8.2.1. ~~Penalty for first degree child molestation sexual assault – Harboring a~~

~~sex offender -- Jessica Lunsford Child Predator Act of 2006. --~~ Penalty for first degree child

molestation sexual assault – Jessica Lunsford Child Predator Act of 2006. -- (a) Title and

Legislative Intent. - The title of this section shall be "The Jessica Lunsford Child Predator Act of

2006". In enacting this section the general assembly intends that in order to ensure the safety of

victims the most dangerous child predators be electronically monitored via an active global

positioning system in order to ensure that their whereabouts can be easily ascertained by law

enforcement and other responsible authorities at all times while providing treatment to offenders.

(b) Every person who shall violate the provisions of subdivisions 11-37-8.2.1(b)(1)

through 11-37-8.2.1(b)(2) listed herein shall be electronically monitored via an active global

positioning system for life and, as a condition of parole and probation, and for the duration of any

period of his or her probation following his or her parole shall attend a sex offender treatment

program to address his or her criminally offensive behavior, as determined by the department of

probation and parole. The persons subject to this condition of parole shall include:

(1) Persons who commit first degree child molestation sexual assault on or after January

1, 2007 and the victim of the sexual assault is twelve (12) years of age or younger; or

(2) Persons who shall violate the conditions of section 11-37-8.1 on or after January

1, 2007 and be determined a high-risk of re-offense (level 3) offender under the conditions of

subdivision 11-37.1-12, and the person is deemed a child predator as defined in subsection 11-37-

8.2.1(g) or have committed the offense in conjunction with circumstances involving kidnapping,

torture or aggravated battery, and provided further that the victim to the offense is fourteen (14)

years of age or younger.

(3) Any person who violates the terms of the global position monitoring conditions shall

be guilty of a misdemeanor.

offender and the court is hereby authorized and empowered to utilize all resources available to

collect the funds for these costs unless the court finds that the defendant is indigent. In such cases

costs shall be waived in order to promote this section's legislative intent.

(d) Harboring. -

(1) Any person who has reason to know that a person convicted of first degree child

molestation as defined by sections 11-37-8.1 or 11-37-8.2.1 is not complying or has not complied

with the requirements of this section where applicable and who with the intent to assist the child

molester in eluding a law enforcement agency that is seeking to find the child molester to

question the child molester about or to arrest the child molester for his or her non-compliance

with the requirements of this section and who:

(i) knowingly withholds information from or willfully fails to notify the law enforcement

agency about the child molester's non-compliance with the requirements of this section; or

(ii) harbors or attempts to harbor or assists another person in harboring or attempting to

harbor the child molester; or

(iii) knowingly conceals or attempts to conceal or assists another person in concealing or

attempting to conceal the child molester; or

(iv) provides information to the law enforcement agency regarding the child molester that

the person knows to be false information commits a felony and shall be subject to imprisonment

for a period of five (5) years. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the

discretion of the judges to impose additional sanctions authorized in sentencing.

(2) Any person who permits a child predator as defined by this section to reside with

them knowing that the child predator has failed to comply with the requirements of subsection

11-37-8.2.1(b) commits a felony punishable by up to five (5) years imprisonment and/or a five

thousand dollar ($5,000) fine.

(e) Any person who intentionally tampers with damages or destroys any electronic

monitoring equipment required by this section pursuant to a court order or parole board order

unless such person is the owner of the equipment or an agent of the owner performing ordinary

maintenance and repairs commits a felony and shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more

than five (5) years.

(f) The department of corrections, prior to the release from incarceration of any child

predator, shall ensure that the child predator's fingerprints are taken and forwarded to the bureau

of criminal identification (BCI) division within the department of attorney general within forty-

eight (48) hours after release from incarceration. The fingerprint card shall be clearly marked

"Child Predator Registration Card".

(g) For the purposes of this section "child predator" shall be defined as any person

convicted of any violation of section 11-37-8.1, and who on a prior occasion has been convicted

of a violation of section 11-37-8.1 or section 11-37-8.3.

SECTION 2. Section 11-1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-1 entitled "General

Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

11-1-4. Harboring criminal. -- Except where subsection 11-37-8.2.1(d) applies, Eevery

person not standing in the relation of husband or wife, parent or grandparent, child or grandchild,

or brother or sister, by consanguinity or affinity, to another who shall have committed any offense

or been accessory before the fact to the commission of any offense, who shall be convicted of

knowingly harboring or relieving the offender, with intent that he or she shall escape or avoid

detection, arrest, trial, or punishment, shall be imprisoned not exceeding five (5) years or be fined

not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000).

SECTION 3. Section 11-37-8.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-37 entitled "Sexual

Assault" is hereby amended to read as follows:

11-37-8.2. Penalty for first degree child molestation sexual assault. -- Every

person who shall commit first degree child molestation sexual assault shall be imprisoned for a

period of not less than twenty-five ~~(20)~~(25) years and may be imprisoned for life.

SECTION 4. Section 11-37.1-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-37.1 entitled "Sexual

Offender Registration and Community Notification" is hereby amended to read as follows:

11-37.1-6. Community notification. -- (1) (a) Sex Offender Board of Review. - The

governor shall appoint ~~six (6)~~ eight (8) persons including experts in the field of the behavior and

treatment of sexual offenders by reason of training and experience, victim's rights advocates, and

law enforcement representatives to the sex offender board of review. At least one member of the

sex offender board of review shall be a qualified child/adolescent sex offender treatment

specialist. These persons shall serve at the pleasure of the governor or until their successor has

been duly qualified and appointed.

(b) Duties of the Board. - Upon passage of this legislation, the sex offender board of

review will utilize a validated risk assessment instrument and other material approved by the

parole board to determine the level of risk an offender poses to the community and to assist the

sentencing court in determining if that person is a sexually violent predator. If the offender is a

juvenile, the Department of Children, Youth & Families shall select and administer a risk

instrument appropriate for juveniles and shall submit the results to the sex offender board of

review.

a duty to register under section 11-37.1-3, or upon sentencing of a person having a duty to

responsibility and the Interstate Compact Unit of the Rhode Island department of corrections

upon acceptance of supervision of a sexual offender from the sending state shall refer the person

to the sex offender board of review, together with any reports and documentation that may be

helpful to the board, for a determination as to the level of risk an offender poses to the community

and to assist the sentencing court in determining if that person is a sexually violent predator.

(2) ~~(a)~~(i) The board shall within thirty (30) days of a referral of a person shall conduct

the validated risk assessment, review other material provided by the agency having supervisory

responsibility and assign a risk of re-offense level to the offender. In addition, the board may find

that, based on the assessment score and other material, that the person may posses a mental

abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in sexually violent

predatory offenses. In these cases, the committee shall ask the parole board psychiatrist or if the

offender is a juvenile, a DCYF psychiatrist to conduct a sex offender evaluation to determine if

the offender posses a mental abnormality or personality disorder that affects the emotional or

volitional capacity of the person in a manner that predisposes that person to the commission of

criminal sexual acts to a degree that makes the person a menace to the health and safety of other

persons.

~~(b)~~(ii) Upon receipt of a sex offender evaluation that suggests there is sufficient evidence

and documentation to suggest that a person may be a sexually violent predator, the sex offender

board of review shall forward a report to the attorney general for consideration by the court.

~~(c)~~(iii) Upon receipt of a report from the attorney general, the court, after notice to the

offender and his or her counsel, shall upon consideration of the report and other materials, make a

determination as to whether or not a person is a sexually violent predator.

~~(d)~~(iv) Effect of determination. - In the event that a determination is made by the court

that a person is a sexually violent predator, that person shall be required to register and verify his

or her address in accordance with sections 11-37.1-3, 11-37.1-4 and 11-37.1-8(b).

(3) No cause of action or liability shall arise or exist against the committee or any

member or agent of the board as a result of the failure of the board to make any findings required

by this section within the time period specified by subdivision (2) of this subsection.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board shall have access to all

relevant records and information in the possession of any state official or agency having a duty

under sections 11-37.-5(a)(1) through (6), relating to the juvenile and adult offenders under

review by the board, including, but not limited to, police reports; prosecutor's statements of

probable cause, presentence investigations and reports, complete judgments and sentences,

current classification referrals, juvenile and adult criminal history records, violation and

disciplinary reports, all psychological evaluations and psychiatric evaluations, psychiatric

hospital records, sex offender evaluations and treatment reports, substance abuse evaluations and

treatment reports to the extent allowed by federal law. Records and information obtained by the

board of review under this subsection shall remain confidential, provided that the board of review

may disclose the records and information to the sentencing court in accordance with the

provisions of this chapter.

SECTION 5. Sections 13-8-30 and 13-8-32 of the General Laws in Chapter 13-8 entitled

"Parole" are hereby amended to read as follows:

13-8-30. Community supervision for child molestation offenses. -- Notwithstanding

any other provision of the general laws to the contrary, any person convicted of first degree child

molestation pursuant to section 11-37-8.1 or second degree child molestation pursuant to section

11-37-8.3 shall, in addition to any other penalty imposed, be subject to community supervision

upon that person's completion of any prison sentence, suspended sentence, and/or probationary

term imposed as a result of that conviction.

In the case of a person convicted of first degree child molestation pursuant to section 11-

37-8.1, community supervision shall be for life and pursuant to the provisions of section 11-37-

8.2.1, community supervision shall include electronic monitoring via an active global positioning

system for life. In the case of a person eighteen (18) years or older convicted of second degree

child molestation pursuant to section 11-37-8.3, the term of the original sentence imposed and the

term of community supervision shall not exceed thirty (30) years.

13-8-32. Community supervision. -- (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a

person who has been placed on community supervision shall be subject to the provisions of law

governing parole as if the person were a parolee. The parole board shall impose terms and

conditions for the sentence within thirty (30) days ~~prior to the commencement of community~~

~~supervision~~ of sentencing. The terms and conditions may be revised, altered, and amended by the

parole board at any time.

(b) A person under community supervision shall be under the jurisdiction, supervision

and control of the parole board in the same manner as a person under parole supervision. The

board is authorized on an individual basis to establish any conditions of community supervision

that may be necessary to ensure public safety, which may include protecting the public from a

person committing a sex offense ~~or child kidnapping~~ including child molestation or child

kidnapping as well as promoting the rehabilitation of the person. The conditions shall include at

the expense of the offender sex offender treatment with a recognized treatment provider in the

field to be determined by the board for as long as the board deems necessary, and compliance

with the requirements of chapter 37 of title 11.

fee upon a person on community supervision. To the extent possible the board shall set the fee in

an amount that will substantially defray the cost of the community supervision program.

(d) The board shall also establish a fee waiver procedure for hardship cases and

indigency.

(e) After a person sentenced to community supervision has been under supervision for a

period of fifteen (15) years or any time after the person ceases to be a resident of the state, the

person may petition the board for termination of community supervision. A petition for

termination which is based upon the person no longer being a resident of Rhode Island shall be

accompanied by an affidavit of the person attesting to his or her non-residency and providing his

or her new out of state address. A petition for termination which is based upon the completion of

fifteen (15) years of community supervision may only occur by a majority vote of all the

members of the community supervision board. Termination may only occur by a majority vote of

all the members. Upon receiving a petition for termination, the board shall, within sixty (60) days,

conduct a hearing before the full membership. At least thirty (30) days prior to a hearing on the

petition, the board shall cause a criminal history check to be conducted, and notify in writing the

victims of the crime for which the sentence was imposed, the attorney general, and the chief of

police or head of the organized police department of the municipality in which the crime was

committed, and the chief of police or head of the organized police department of the municipality

in which the person resides, of the person's petition for release from community supervision.

Those officials and victims shall be provided the opportunity to respond to the petition. The

officials and victims may appear in person or be represented or make written recommendations to

the board, but failure of any or all of the officials to appear or make recommendations shall not

delay the termination procedure.

(f) If a victim is deceased at the time the termination hearing is scheduled the deceased

victim may be represented by his relatives in the following order: mother, father, spouse, child,

grandchild, brother or sister, niece or nephew.

(g) Prior to the hearing, the petitioner shall be examined, personally interviewed and

evaluated by a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist, who is an expert in the field of sex offender

treatment and approved by the board. The psychiatrist or psychologist shall file written reports

with the board of his or her examinations and diagnoses, and his or her recommendation for the

disposition of the person. The petitioner's treatment while on community supervision shall be

examined and considered by the psychiatrist or psychologist in the recommendation. The reports

shall be admissible in a hearing pursuant to this section. If the person refuses, without good cause,

to be personally interviewed by the psychiatrist or psychologist, the person shall be deemed to

have waived his or her right to a hearing on the petition, and the petition shall be dismissed by the

board. The cost of the examination and evaluation shall be the responsibility of the person

petitioning for release from supervision; provided, that procedures shall be established for cases

of hardship or indigency.

(h) At the hearing, the board shall call any witnesses that it deems necessary, including

the examining psychiatrist or psychologist, the attorney general, the police chief or the victims of

the crime or his or her family member, as the board deems necessary. The petitioner may offer

any witnesses and other proof at the hearing that is relevant to the petition.

(i) The board shall terminate community supervision if the petitioner demonstrates, by

clear and convincing evidence, that he or she has not committed a sex offense of child kidnapping

since his or her conviction, that he or she is not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others, and

that the public interest is not served by further community supervision.

(j) If a petition for release from supervision is denied by the board, the person may not

file another petition for a period of three (3) years.

SECTION 6. Chapter 13-8 of the General Laws entitled "Parole" is hereby amended by

adding thereto the following section:

13-8-34. Severability. -- If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person

or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not

affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the

invalid or unconstitutional provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter

are declared to be severable.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01243/SUB B

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