Senate Bill No. 54

(By Senators McKenzie and Weeks)

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[Introduced January 8, 2003; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article eight, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing penalties for indecent exposure.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article eight, 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 8. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.
§61-8-9. Indecent exposure.

(a) A person is guilty of indecent exposure when such the person intentionally exposes his or her sex organs or anus or the sex organs or anus of another person, or intentionally causes such exposure by another or engages in any overt act of sexual gratification, and does so under circumstances in which the person knows that the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm.
(b) Any A person who violates the provisions of this section shall, for a first offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail not more than ninety days, or fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars and confined in the county or regional jail not more than ninety days.
(c) A person who violates the provisions of this section shall, for a second offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail not less than six months nor more than one year or fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or both fined and imprisoned.
(d) A person who violates the provisions of this section shall, for a third offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail not less than nine months nor more than one year, or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both fined and imprisoned.
(e) A person who violates the provisions of this section shall, for a fourth or subsequent offense, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the state correctional facility not less than one year nor more than five years, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both imprisoned and fined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create increasingly greater criminal penalties for subsequent offenses of indecent exposure.

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