Revision: March 11, 2020, 11:56 a.m.
HB 1240 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
11Mar2020... 0556h
2020 SESSION
20-2513
05/06
HOUSE BILL 1240
AN ACT relative to the grounds for sexual assault and related offenses.
SPONSORS: Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 6; Rep. Migliore, Graf. 9; Rep. Lang, Belk. 4; Rep. Marzullo, Hills. 2; Rep. B. Griffin, Hills. 6; Rep. Klein-Knight, Hills. 11
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill amends the definition of sexual contact in the criminal sexual assault statutes. The bill also expands the elements of the crime of felonious sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault to include sexual contact between school employees and students, and to include circumstances when the actor is in a position of authority over a victim who is between 13 and 18 years of age.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Mar2020... 0556h 20-2513
05/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to the grounds for sexual assault and related offenses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Sexual Assault and Related Offenses; Definition of Sexual Contact. Amend RSA 632-A:1, IV to read as follows:
IV. "Sexual contact" means the intentional touching whether directly, through clothing, or otherwise, of the victim's or actor's sexual or intimate parts, including emissions, tongue, anus, breasts, and buttocks. Sexual contact includes only that aforementioned conduct which can be reasonably construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification or the humiliation of the person being touched.
2 New Paragraph; Sexual Assault and Related Offenses; Definition of Student Added. Amend RSA 632-A:1 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
V-a. "Student" means an individual who is enrolled or participating in any class or program from preschool through grade 12, or any “adult student” as defined in department of education rules at any school or education institution, except as otherwise provided in the New Hampshire Rules for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
3 Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:2, I(k) to read as follows:
(k)(1) When, except as between legally married spouses, the victim is 13 years of age or older and under 18 years of age and the actor is in a position of authority over the victim [and uses this authority to coerce the victim to submit] and is more than 4 years older than the victim.
(2) When the actor is an employee, contractor, or volunteer at a primary or secondary educational institution and the victim is a student and up to 10 months after the student’s graduation or departure.
(3) Consent of the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in subparagraph (k) shall not be considered a defense.
4 Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:3, III to read as follows:
III.(a) Engages in sexual contact with a person:
(1) Other than his or her legal spouse who is under 13 years of age.
(2) Thirteen years of age or older and under 18 years of age when the actor is in a position of authority over the victim and is more than 4 years older than the victim.
(3) When the actor is an employee, contractor, or volunteer at a primary or secondary educational institution and the victim is a student and up to 10 months after the student’s graduation or departure.
(b) Consent of the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in subparagraph (a) shall not be considered a defense.
5 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 632-A:3, IV(c), relative to a definition of sexual contact for purposes of the crime of felonious sexual assault.
II. RSA 632-A:4, III(c), relative to a definition of sexual contact for purposes of the crime of sexual assault.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.