Amends TCA Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41; Title 53 and Title 55.

This bill revises the penalties for continuous sexual abuse of a child to clarify the acts that warrant certain punishments, as discussed below. PRESENT LAW Generally under present law, a person commits continuous sexual abuse of a child who: (1) Over a period of 90 days or more, engages in three or more incidents of sexual abuse of a child involving the same minor child on separate occasions or engages in at least one incident of sexual abuse of a child upon three or more different minor children on separate occasions; or (2) Over a period of less than 90 days, engages in five or more incidents of sexual abuse of a child involving two or more different minor children on separate occasions. The offense is punishable as follows: (A) It is a Class A felony if at least three of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute aggravated rape, if the child is more than 13 but less than 18 years of age; rape, if the child is more than 13 but less than 18 years of age; aggravated sexual battery; rape of a child; soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor; or aggravated rape of a child; (B) If one of the three or more violations under item (1) above would be punished as a Class B felony if it were a single conviction, then the punishment for a violation of continuous sexual abuse of a child is a Class B felony; (C) The offense is a Class B felony if there are less than three acts of sexual abuse of a child under the offenses listed above in (A) but there are at least three acts under any combination of those offense; and (D) It is a Class C felony if at least three of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute sexual battery by an authority figure or statutory rape by an authority figure. THIS BILL This bill revises the penalties to be as follows: (1) A Class A felony if three or more of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute aggravated rape, if the child is more than 13 but less than 18 years of age; rape, if the child is more than 13 but less than 18 years of age; aggravated sexual battery; rape of a child; soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor; or aggravated rape of a child (same as present law); (2) A Class B felony if two of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute violations of offenses listed in above; and (3) A Class C felony if one or fewer of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute violations of offenses listed above. ON APRIL 13, 2022, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1792, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 clarifies that the offense is a Class C felony if one of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitutes a violation of a listed offense and adds that the offense is a Class C felony if at least three of the acts of sexual abuse of a child constitute violations of the offenses of sexual battery by an authority figure or statutory rape by an authority figure. This amendment also adds to the list of offenses that warrant the Class A felony, as described above in the bill summary, trafficking for a commercial sex act if the victim is a minor and promoting prostitution if the victim is a minor.