House File 2554 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2554 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 595) A BILL FOR An Act creating the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a 1 child and providing penalties. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5316HV (3) 88 hf/rh

H.F. 2554 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 709.23 Continuous sexual abuse of a 1 child. 2 1. A person eighteen years of age or older commits 3 continuous sexual abuse of a child when the person engages 4 in any combination of three or more acts of sexual abuse in 5 violation of section 709.3, 709.4, 709.8, or 709.12, with the 6 same child, and at least thirty days have elapsed between the 7 first and last acts of sexual abuse. 8 2. A person who commits continuous sexual abuse of a 9 child is, upon conviction, guilty of a class “B” felony. 10 Notwithstanding section 902.9, subsection 1, paragraph “b” , a 11 person convicted of a violation of this subsection involving 12 any combination of three or more acts of sexual abuse that 13 includes a violation of section 709.3 or 709.4 shall be 14 confined for no more than fifty years. 15 3. If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury 16 must unanimously agree that three or more acts of sexual 17 abuse in violation of section 709.3, 709.4, 709.8, or 709.12 18 were committed with the same child and at least thirty days 19 have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse. 20 The jury does not need to unanimously agree which specific 21 acts were committed or the exact date when those acts were 22 committed. 23 4. Any other sexual abuse offense involving the same child 24 shall not be charged in the same proceeding as a charge under 25 this section unless the other sexual abuse offense occurred 26 outside of the time period charged under this section or the 27 other sexual abuse offense is charged in the alternative. 28 5. A person shall be charged with only one count under this 29 section unless more than one child is involved in the offense. 30 If more than one child is involved, a separate count may be 31 charged for each child. 32 6. Each act of sexual abuse committed under section 709.3, 33 709.4, 709.8, or 709.12 shall be considered a lesser included 34 offense to the crime of continuous sexual abuse of a child 35 -1- LSB 5316HV (3) 88 hf/rh 1/ 3

H.F. 2554 under this section. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill creates a new criminal offense of continuous 5 sexual abuse of a child. 6 Under the bill, a person 18 years of age or older commits 7 continuous sexual abuse of a child when the victim is a child, 8 defined as a person under the age of 14 pursuant to Code 9 section 702.5, at least 30 days have elapsed between the first 10 and last acts of sexual abuse, and the person engages in three 11 or more acts of sexual abuse in violation of Code section 709.3 12 (sexual abuse in the second degree), 709.4 (sexual abuse in 13 the third degree), 709.8 (lascivious acts with a child), or 14 709.12 (indecent contact with a child). A person who commits a 15 violation of the bill is, upon conviction, guilty of a class 16 “B” felony. The bill allows a court to sentence a person to 17 no more than 50 years, longer than the maximum sentence for a 18 class “B” felony specified in Code section 902.9 (25 years) if 19 the combination of three acts includes Code section 709.3 or 20 709.4. If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury 21 must unanimously agree that three or more acts in violation of 22 the bill were committed with the same child and at least 30 23 days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual 24 abuse, but the jury does not need to unanimously agree which 25 specific acts were committed or the exact date when those acts 26 were committed. 27 The bill provides that a person charged with the offense 28 of continuous sexual abuse of a child shall not be charged 29 with any other sexual abuse offenses involving the same child 30 in the same proceeding unless the other sexual abuse offense 31 occurred outside of the time period charged or the other sexual 32 abuse offense is charged in the alternative. A person shall 33 be charged with only one count under the bill unless more than 34 one child is involved in the offense. If more than one child is 35 -2- LSB 5316HV (3) 88 hf/rh 2/ 3

H.F. 2554 involved, a separate count may be charged for each child. Each 1 act of sexual abuse committed under Code section 709.3, 709.4, 2 709.8, or 709.12 shall be considered a lesser included offense 3 to the crime of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the 4 bill. 5 -3- LSB 5316HV (3) 88 hf/rh 3/ 3