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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for defendants who commit certain |
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aggravated sexual assaults. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Chelsea's Law. |
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SECTION 2. Sections 22.021(e) and (f), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the first |
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degree, except as provided by Subsection (f). |
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(f)(1) An offense under this section is a felony of the |
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first degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of |
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Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years |
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or less than [The minimum term of imprisonment for an offense under
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this section is increased to] 25 years, if at the time of the |
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offense the defendant is younger than 18 years of age and: |
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(A) [(1)] the victim of the offense is younger |
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than six years of age [at the time the offense is committed]; or |
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(B) [(2)] the victim of the offense is younger |
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than 14 years of age [at the time the offense is committed] and the |
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actor commits the offense in a manner described by Subsection |
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(a)(2)(A). |
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(2) An offense under this section is a felony of the |
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first degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of |
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Criminal Justice for life without parole, if at the time of the |
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offense the defendant is 18 years of age or older and: |
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(A) the victim of the offense is younger than six |
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years of age; |
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(B) the victim of the offense is younger than 14 |
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years of age and the actor commits the offense in a manner described |
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by Subsection (a)(2)(A); or |
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(C) the victim of the offense is younger than 17 |
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years of age and suffered serious bodily injury as a result of the |
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offense. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |