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Sub. H. B. No. 485As Reported by the House Criminal Justice CommitteeAs Reported by the House Criminal Justice Committee
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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REPRESENTATIVES Widowfield, Womer Benjamin, Williams, Roman, Hoops, Webster, McGregor, Wolpert, Flowers, Lendrum, Salerno, Latta, Trakas, Young, Metzger, Olman, Hagan, Brinkman, Evans, Clancy, Jerse, Carey, Reinhard, Setzer, Schmidt, Collier, Grendell, Seitz, Buehrer, Hughes, Callender, Niehaus, Schuring, Gilb, Oakar, Seaver, Otterman, Faber, Reidelbach, Sulzer, S. Smith, Sykes, Brown
A BILL
To amend section 2907.02 of the Revised Code to
eliminate the requirement of force or a threat of
force for a sentence of life imprisonment for the
rape of a child who is less than ten years of age,
to provide life imprisonment without parole for
repeat offenders who rape children less than
thirteen years of age,
and to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 2907.02 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2907.02. (A)(1) No person shall engage in sexual
conduct with another who is not the spouse of the offender or who
is the spouse of the offender but is living separate and apart
from the offender, when any of the following applies: (a) For the purpose of preventing resistance, the offender
substantially impairs the other person's judgment or control by
administering any drug, intoxicant, or controlled
substance to the
other person surreptitiously or by force, threat
of force, or
deception. (b) The other person is less than thirteen years of age,
whether or not the offender knows the age of the other person. (c) The other person's ability to resist or consent is
substantially impaired because of a mental or physical condition
or because of advanced age, and the offender knows or has
reasonable cause to believe that the other person's ability to
resist or consent is substantially impaired because of a mental
or
physical condition or because of advanced age. (2) No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another
when the offender purposely compels the other person to submit by
force or threat of force. (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of
rape, a
felony of the first degree. If the offender under
division
(A)(1)(a) of this section
substantially impairs the other person's
judgment or control by administering
any controlled substance
described in section 3719.41 of the
Revised Code
to the other
person surreptitiously or by force, threat of force, or
deception,
the prison term imposed upon the offender shall be one of the
prison
terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree in
section 2929.14
of the Revised Code that is not less than five
years.
If the offender under
division (A)(1)(b) of this section
purposely compels the victim
to submit by force or threat of force
or if the victim under division (A)(1)(b) of this section is less
than ten years of age, whoever violates division (A)(1)(b)
of
this
section shall be imprisoned for life.
If the offender previously
has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to violating division
(A)(1)(b) of this section or to violating a law of another state
or the United States that is substantially similar to division
(A)(1)(b) of this section, whoever violates division (A)(1)(b) of
this section shall be imprisoned for life and may be imprisoned
for life without parole. (C) A victim need not prove physical resistance to the
offender in prosecutions under this section. (D) Evidence of specific instances of the victim's sexual
activity, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual activity, and
reputation evidence of the victim's sexual activity shall not be
admitted under this section unless it involves evidence of the
origin of semen, pregnancy, or disease, or the victim's past
sexual activity with the offender, and only to the extent that
the
court finds that the evidence is material to a fact at issue
in
the case and that its inflammatory or prejudicial nature does
not
outweigh its probative value. Evidence of specific instances of the defendant's sexual
activity, opinion evidence of the defendant's sexual activity,
and
reputation evidence of the defendant's sexual activity shall
not
be admitted under this section unless it involves evidence of
the
origin of semen, pregnancy, or disease, the defendant's past
sexual activity with the victim, or is admissible against the
defendant under section 2945.59 of the Revised Code, and only to
the extent that the court finds that the evidence is material to
a
fact at issue in the case and that its inflammatory or
prejudicial
nature does not outweigh its probative value. (E) Prior to taking testimony or receiving evidence of any
sexual activity of the victim or the defendant in a proceeding
under this section, the court shall resolve the admissibility of
the proposed evidence in a hearing in chambers, which shall be
held at or before preliminary hearing and not less than three
days
before trial, or for good cause shown during the trial. (F) Upon approval by the court, the victim may be
represented by counsel in any hearing in chambers or other
proceeding to resolve the admissibility of evidence. If the
victim is indigent or otherwise is unable to obtain the services
of
counsel, the court, upon request, may appoint counsel to
represent the victim without cost to the victim. (G) It is not a defense to a charge under division (A)(2)
of
this section that the offender and the victim were married or
were
cohabiting at the time of the commission of the offense.
Section 2. That existing section 2907.02 of the Revised Code
is hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is that
this act's elimination of the need to prove force or a threat of
force in cases involving the rape of a child under the age of ten
is needed at the earliest possible date to prevent sex offenders
from preying on the children of Ohio. Therefore, this act shall
go into immediate effect.
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