The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the prosecution of the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a young child or children. Under the provisions of the bill, at least one of the acts of sexual abuse must occur in-state with other or subsequent acts eligible under the bill's provisions if the act was a violation of a similar penal law of another state. This offense is currently punishable as a first degree felony.   

A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years and, in addition to confinement, can include an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

Expanding the circumstances for a criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the counties and of the State due to an increase in individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. The bill may have a negative population impact by increasing the number of people placed onto felony community supervision or incarcerated within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would result in a significant increase in correctional populations is indeterminate due to a lack of data on the number of cases where at least one of the acts of sexual abuse was committed in state and another was a violation of a similar penal law of another state. These data are necessary to determine the number of individuals who would now be eligible for prosecution under the bill's provisions because an act committed in another state contained elements substantially similar to those of this State. In fiscal year 2018, 657 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed under felony direct community supervision, and 183 were admitted into a state correctional institution for continuous sexual abuse of a young child under current statute. The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined at this time.