COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2523

(By Delegates Perry, Pino, Long, Tabb,

Hrutkay and Armstead)

[Passed April 9, 2005; in effect ninety days from passage.]




AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-32, relating to making it a crime for released inmates to contact correctional employees or members of the parol board in certain circumstances.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
 That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-32, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
 §61-10-32. Unlawful contact with a Division of Corrections employee or member of the parole board; penalty.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a former inmate of the Division of Corrections to make a telephone call to a Division of Corrections employee or member of the parole board when the employee has requested in writing to that former inmate that he or she not call and the former inmate has actually been served with a copy of the written request.
(b) It shall be unlawful for a former inmate of the Division of Corrections to willfully and repeatedly follow a Division of Corrections employee or member of the parole board with whom he or she seeks to establish a personal or social relationship when the Division of Corrections employee or member of the parole board has expressed to the former inmate that he or she wishes not to have contact with the former inmate.
(c) It shall be unlawful for a former inmate of the Division of Corrections to harass or make credible threats against a Division of Corrections employee or member of the parole board.
(d) Any offense committed under sub-section (a) may be deemed to have occurred at the place at which the telephone call was made, or the place at which the telephone call was received.
 (e) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall, for a first offense, be fined not more than five hundred dollars. Any person violating this section for a second offense shall be imprisoned not less than ten days nor more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned.
(f) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Harass" means willful conduct directed at a specific person or persons which would cause a reasonable person mental injury or emotional distress;
(2) "Credible threat" means a threat of bodily injury made with apparent ability to carry out the threat and with the result that a reasonable person would believe that the threat would be carried out;
(3) "Bodily injury" means substantial physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition.
(4) "Immediate family" means a spouse, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, child, stepchild, sibling, or any person who regularly resides in the household or within the prior six months regularly resided in the household.
(g) Upon conviction, the court may issue an order restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim for a period not to exceed ten years. The length of any restraining order shall be based upon the seriousness of the violation before the court, the probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim or his immediate family. The duration of the restraining order may be longer than five years only in cases when a longer duration is necessary to protect the safety of the victim or his or her immediate family.
(h) It is a condition of bond for any person accused of the offense described in this section that the person is to have no contact, direct or indirect, verbal or physical with the alleged victim.