Senate Bill No. 466

(By Senators Love, Helmick, Schoonover, Hunter, Ross and Snyder)

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[Introduced February 8, 1999;

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing a criminal penalty for a correctional worker who subjects an incarcerated or supervised individual to sexual contact.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8B. SEXUAL OFFENSES.

ยง61-8B-8. Sexual abuse in the second degree.

(a) A person is guilty of sexual abuse in the second degree when such the person subjects another person to sexual contact who is mentally defective or mentally incapacitated.
(b) A person working in a correctional institution, correctional unit or jail is guilty of sexual abuse in the second degree when the person subjects an incarcerated person or other person under the supervision of the correctional institution, correctional unit or jail to sexual contact, regardless of whether the person agrees to the sexual contact.

(c) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail not more than twelve months, or fined not more than five hundred dollars and confined in the county or regional jail not more than twelve months.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a criminal penalty for a correctional worker who subjects an incarcerated or supervised individual to sexual contact.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.