Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1641 by Jackson, Jim (Relating to the prosecution of the offenses of sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code by establishing a defense to prosecution for the offenses of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child if the actor reasonably believed that the victim was 17 years of age or older; the actor did not have any reportable convictions or adjudications for sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault of a child and was not a registered sex offender; the victim was 13 years of age or older and in the presence of the actor displayed tangible, false evidence that was intentionally designed to mislead the actor as to the victim’s age.
By establishing a defense to prosecution for the offenses of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child, the bill could potentially decrease incarceration populations. Such decreases would depend on the extent to which the defenses would be applied as provided by the bill; however, any impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies would probably not be substantial.