SENATE, No. 1239

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED JUNE 3, 1996

 

 

By Senators CONNORS and BASSANO

 

 

An Act concerning sexual assault against certain minors and amending N.J.S.2C:14-2.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. N.J.S.2C:14-2 is amended to read as follows:

    2C:14-2. Sexual assault. a. An actor is guilty of aggravated sexual assault if he commits an act of sexual penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances:

    (1) The victim is less than 13 years old;

    (2) The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old; and

    (a) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree, or

    (b) The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor's legal, professional, or occupational status, or     (c) The actor is a foster parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;

    (3) The act is committed during the commission, or attempted commission, whether alone or with one or more other persons, of robbery, kidnapping, homicide, aggravated assault on another, burglary, arson or criminal escape;

    (4) The actor is armed with a weapon or any object fashioned in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon and threatens by word or gesture to use the weapon or object;

    (5) The actor is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and either of the following circumstances exists:

    (a) The actor uses physical force or coercion, or

    (b) The victim is one whom the actor knew or should have known was physically helpless, mentally defective or mentally incapacitated;

    (6) The actor uses physical force or coercion and severe personal injury is sustained by the victim.

    Aggravated sexual assault is a crime of the first degree.

    b. An actor is guilty of sexual assault if he commits an act of sexual contact with a victim who is less than 13 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.

    c. An actor is guilty of sexual assault if he commits an act of sexual penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances:

    (1) The actor uses physical force or coercion, but the victim does not sustain severe personal injury;

    (2) The victim is one whom the actor knew or should have known was physically helpless, mentally defective or mentally incapacitated;

    (3) The victim is on probation or parole, or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor's legal, professional or occupational status;

    (4) The victim is at least 16 but less than 18 years old and:

    (a) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree; or

    (b) The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim; or

    (c) The actor is a foster parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;

    (5) The victim is at least 13 but less than [16] 18 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.

    Sexual assault is a crime of the second degree.

(cf: P.L.1989, c.228, s.3)

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    Currently, a person who commits an act of sexual penetration with a minor who is either 13, 14 or 15 years old is guilty of the crime of sexual assault if the person is at least four years older than the minor. Sexual assault is a crime of the second degree, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five to 10 years or a fine of up to $100,000, or both.

    However, if a minor is either 16 or 17 years old, an adult who commits an act of sexual penetration with that minor commits no criminal offense (assuming that the adult is not related to the minor, does not have supervisory or disciplinary power over the minor, and is not the minor's foster parent or guardian). Thus, the "age of consent" in New Jersey (the age at which a minor is deemed legally capable of giving consent to sexual intercourse) is currently 16.     The sponsor believes that this age is insufficient, given the capacity of an older person to take advantage of a minor under these circumstances. This bill would raise the "age of consent" to 18, providing that an adult who has sexual intercourse with a 16- or 17-year-old is guilty of sexual assault if the adult is at least four years older than the minor.

 

 

                             

Raises "age of consent" for sexual relations from age 16 to age 18, making an adult guilty of sexual assault if the adult commits an act of sexual penetration with a 16- or 17-year-old.