Creating the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child and providing penalties

Sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee

Topics:Courts & civil law Crime & corrections

Same legislation: SSB 3064, HSB 595, HF 2554

Write your legislators about itWhat changed before it passed

Official bill page Lobbyist declarations One-pager to print

Where it is now

Done: IntroducedJanuary 23, 2020
Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 27, 2020
Done: Senate committeeFebruary 17, 2020
Done: Passes the SenateJune 3, 202049–0
Skipped: House committeeSkipped
Done: Passes the HouseMarch 11, 2020
Done: To the GovernorJune 16, 2020
Done: Signed into lawJune 29, 2020

HF 2554 became law → The same legislation passed as HF 2554, so this version was set aside. Go to HF 2554 What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

This bill creates a new criminal offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child.12 (indecent contact with a child). A person who commits a violation of the bill is, upon conviction, guilty of a class “B” felony.4. If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury must unanimously agree that three or more acts in violation of the bill were committed with the same child and at least days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse, but the jury does not need to unanimously agree which specific acts were committed or the exact date when those acts were committed.

Read the full explanation

The bill provides that a person charged with the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child shall not be charged with any other sexual abuse offenses involving the same child in the same proceeding unless the other sexual abuse offense occurred outside of the time period charged or the other sexual abuse offense is charged in the alternative. A person shall be charged with only one count under the bill unless more than one child is involved in the offense. If more than one child is involved, a separate count may be charged for each child.

Changed since by amendments S-5090, H-8152, H-8141, H-8079, H-8068; see Amendments.

Full bill text · What changed before it passed¹

Senate subcommittee

Named January 27, 2020 (as SSB 3064). On February 5, 2020 it recommended amendment and passage.

Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part

Fiscal note

Cost: up to $109,000 Compare with other bills

AI summary This bill creates a new criminal offense for the continuous sexual abuse of a child and establishes rules for sex offender registration and potential hormonal therapy. The fiscal impact of the bill cannot be estimated because the total correctional impact is unknown. While the cost for one prison admission for this violation is estimated at approximately $109,000, the overall effect on the state's funds cannot be calculated.²

Read the fiscal note

Description

House File 2554 creates a new criminal offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Under the Bill, a person 18 years of age or older commits continuous sexual abuse of a child when the victim is a child (under the age of 14), at least 30 days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse, and the person engages in 3 or more acts of sexual abuse in violation of:

Iowa Code section 709.2 (Sexual Abuse in the First Degree),
Iowa Code section 709.3 (Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree),
Iowa Code section 709.4 (Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree),
Iowa Code section 709.8 (Lascivious Acts with a Child), or
Iowa Code section 709.12 (Indecent Contact with a Child)

House File 2554 defines continuous sexual abuse as an aggravated offense or an aggravated offense against a minor under Iowa Code section 692A.101 for the purposes of the sex offender registry. Under the Bill, a violation of new Iowa Code section 709.23 is a Tier II sex offense for the purposes of the sex offender registry.

Under the Bill, a person who is convicted of continuous sexual abuse is subject to an enhanced penalty under Iowa Code section 902.14. The Bill also provides that a person who is convicted of continuous sexual abuse may be required by the court or the Board of Parole to undergo hormonal intervention therapy under Iowa Code section 903B.10 as part of a condition of release.

Background

A person who commits a violation of this Bill is guilty of a Class B felony. The Bill allows a court to sentence a person guilty of continuous sexual abuse to maximum confinement of 50 years, if the combination of three acts includes a violation of sexual abuse in the second degree or sexual abuse in the third degree. The default sentence for a Class B felony is maximum confinement of 25 years.

Under Iowa Code section 902.14, a person receives an enhanced penalty and commits a class A felony if the person commits a second or subsequent offense involving any combination of the following offenses:

Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree
Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree
Lascivious Acts with a Child

This Bill adds continuous sexual abuse as an offense that may qualify towards the enhanced penalty.

Any person convicted of a serious sex offense as defined by Iowa Code section 903B.10 may be required by the court or the Board of Parole to undergo hormonal intervention therapy as a condition of release. Persons required to undergo this treatment are required to pay a reasonable fee to pay for the costs of providing the treatment. A requirement that a person pay a fee shall include a provision for reduction, deferral, or waiver of payment if the person is financially unable to pay the fee. Under the Bill, those who are convicted of continuous sexual abuse may be required to undergo this treatment.

Assumptions

The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay; revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
The average marginal cost for prison is $20.38 per day.
The average length of stay of an individual convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child will be 176.6 months.

Correctional Impact

House File 2554 creates a new criminal offense, and the correctional impact is unknown. In FY 2019, there were 156 individuals who were admitted to prison on at least one of the offenses listed under this Bill. Sixty-one of these individuals were convicted of an offense which specified a child victim was involved.

It is estimated that some of those who are admitted annually to prison for similar offenses and serving Class C or D felonies will receive sentence enhancements under this Bill. In FY 2019, the current average length of stay for those exiting prison under those sentences was 54.3 months for a Class C felony and 25.0 months for a Class D felony. It is estimated that the average length of stay for those convicted of this offense would increase to 176.6 months. The extent of the increase cannot be calculated due to unavailable data relating to the duration of abuse.

Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 16, 2020, for information related to the correctional system.

Minority Impact

House File 2554 creates a new criminal offense, and the minority impact cannot be estimated due to a lack of data.

Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 15, 2020, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

The fiscal impact of HF 2554 cannot be estimated due to the unknown correctional impact. Given that the average length of stay would increase to 176.6 months, the estimated cost for an admission to prison for a violation of this Bill would be approximately $109,000 total per offender.

Currently, the cost to incarcerate an individual convicted of a Class C or D felony listed in this Bill is approximately $34,000 or $15,000, respectively. It is estimated that some of these admissions will become Class B felonies under this Bill. The increased cost for those previously admitted to prison as a Class C or D felony would be $76,000 or $94,000, respectively. The State cost of a Class A felony must be calculated on an individual basis to determine prison costs. At a minimum, Class A felonies require two indigent defense attorneys at a cost of approximately $36,000 and include court time and jury trial costs ranging from $10,000 to $14,300.