SB 757 - House Committee Substitute Summary

- House Committee Substitute -

HCS/SS#2/SCS/SB 757 & 602 - This act revises various child protection laws and various criminal provisions, including those targeting children as victims.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES

SECTIONS 182.825 and 182.827 - Requires elementary and secondary public schools that provide Internet access to equip their computers with software that will filter materials which are harmful to minors. Public libraries providing public access to computers and the Internet must either use filtering software or, by January 1, 2001, implement a policy restricting minors' access to harmful material. Violators will be subject to penalties.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

SECTION 210.001 - Currently, this section requires the Department of Social Services to fund certain regional child assessment centers. New language adds the center in Jefferson County.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTS

SECTION 210.109 - The Division of Family Services shall immediately contact law enforcement upon receipt of a report of a suspected violation of certain criminal provisions targeting children. As used in this section, "report" includes hotline calls.

SECTION 210.115 - Certain medical, child care and school personnel are currently required to report the death of a child under 18 years of age to the Division. If the medical examiner or coroner determines that the child died from natural causes while under medical care, he or she shall notify the Division within 24 hours of the child's death. In all other cases, the medical examiner or coroner shall notify the Division of the child's death within 24 hours.

SECTION 210.145 - The local office of the Division must currently relay reports of certain crimes involving children to local law enforcement. Adds possession of child pornography and newly created crime of furnishing child pornography to a minor to this list. Multidisciplinary teams may use the services of and shall maintain communication with local public school district liaisons during the investigation. The local Division staff should determine whether the investigation or the family assessment approach should be used to respond to reports.

A Chief Investigator shall be named for each local division and, on cases involving multiple incidents with the same child, the Chief will be required to directly observe the child. If the child attends a non-public school, the Chief Investigator must notify the school principal of the investigation. A person required to report may request findings and information concerning the case. The release of such information will be at the discretion of the Director upon evaluation of the reporter's ability to assist in protecting the child. Findings shall be made available to the reporter within five days of the end of the investigation.

SECTION 210.150 - The duplication of record-keeping provisions in this section and section 210.152 is deleted and the two-year period before destruction of unsubstantiated reports is removed. Release of findings or information about cases resulting in a child fatality or near fatality is at the Director of the Department of Social Services' discretion, based upon potential harm to other children within the immediate family.

SECTION 210.152 - Currently, the Division must retain identifying information for five years upon a finding of insufficient evidence and must begin counting this time from the date of the closing of a case. This act requires retention of information for ten years from the report date if reports are made by a mandated reporter and for two years from the report date if reports are made by non-mandated reporters.

SECTION 210.192 - The local child fatality review panel shall review all deaths of children under the age of 18, that meet the guidelines set by the Department of Social Services. In addition, the panel has discretion to review any child death reported to it by the medical examiner or coroner.

SECTION 210.195 - The state Child Fatality Review Panel shall meet at least biannually. The state technical assistance team shall submit findings and recommendations at least once a year to entities including juvenile officers, the chairmen of the local child fatality review panels.

SECTION 1 - The Division of Family Services shall assist state, local, and private agencies in the creation of the "Jackson County Child Abuse and Neglect Response Team" pilot project. The Team will evaluate, investigate, and assess all hotlines within Jackson County. It will adopt community standards for child protection and hotline response. The Team must report quarterly to the Director of the Division of Family Services. An annual report is due January 1 of each year. This section will terminate December 31, 2005.

EVIDENCE

SECTION 491.074 - A prior inconsistent statement of any witness testifying in any criminal trial shall be received as substantive evidence. Currently, this provision is limited to prosecutions for offenses against the person, sexual offenses or offenses against the family.

SENTENCING

SECTION 559.115 - A court may not grant probation to defendants convicted of certain crimes, including abuse of a child pursuant to Section 568.060, RSMo, when classified as a Class A felony. (Abuse of a child is a Class A felony when the offense results in the death of the child.)

CRIMINAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 566.025 - In prosecutions of a sexual nature involving victims under fourteen years of age, evidence of past offenses of a sexual nature against children under fourteen will be admissible unless the court finds that the probative value of such evidence is outweighed by the prejudicial effect.

SECTION 566.067 - A person commits the crime of child molestation in the first degree if he subjects a child less than 14 years of age to sexual contact. The penalty for child molestation in the first degree is increased to a Class B felony (currently, a C felony). If the actor is a repeat offender, inflicts serious physical injury, displays a weapon or subjects the victim to sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with more than one person, the penalty in increased to a Class A felony (currently, a Class B felony).

SECTION 566.068 - A person commits the crime of child molestation in the second degree if he subjects a person less than seventeen years of age to sexual contact. The penalty for child molestation in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor. If the actor is a repeat offender, inflicts serious injury, displays a weapon, or commits the offense as part of a ritual or ceremony, the penalty is a Class D felony.

SECTION 573.010 - Creates and revises various definitions.

SECTION 573.020 - Adds provision to allow prosecution for promoting obscenity in the first degree for using a computer to distribute pornographic material to minors if the defendant had knowledge that the person to which information was supplied was a minor.

SECTION 573.024 - Creates the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor, for creating child pornography or obscene material with a minor. The penalty is a Class B felony unless the minor is a child, in which case it is a Class A felony.

SECTIONS 573.025 & 573.035 - Combines provisions which currently constitute the Class A felony of promoting child promoting child pornography in the first degree (B felony) and promoting child pornography in the second degree (a C felony), into one section establishing the crime of promoting child pornography, a Class B felony.

SECTION 573.037 - Possession of child pornography shall include possession or control of any visual depictions of a minor involved in sexual contact. The crime is enhanced from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony. Eliminates the requirement of a prior offense before offender is guilty of a felony. Each and every visual depiction of child pornography constitutes a separate offense.

EVIDENCE

SECTION 573.050 - In any prosecution for child pornography in the first or second degree or for furnishing child pornography to minors, the determination of the child's age shall be made as set forth in Section 568.100, or the determination that the child involved meets the definition of "identifiable minor", shall constitute sufficient evidence to support a conviction.

SPECIAL TEAM

SECTION 660.520 - A special team, to be called a state technical assistance team, shall act in cases of child abuse, child neglect, child sexual abuse, child exploitation or child fatality. Where assistance is requested, state technical assistance team members shall investigate these claims and shall cooperate with law enforcement. The team shall prioritize cases on which more than one report has been received. The Director of the Division of Family Services will be held accountable for cases reported and filed with the Division. Team members must have training to be peace officers. If authorized by local law enforcement, team members shall have arrest powers. Reports of the team and of local law enforcement, including arrest records, shall be available in the same manner as set forth in Sections 610.100 to 610.200.

Certain provisions in this act are identical to portions of SB 758.

ERIN MOTLEY