Bill H 469 An act relating to comprehensive protection against child sexual abuse
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as The Protection from Sexual Predators Act of 2011.SECTION 2. Section 51A of Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by Section 97 of Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2008, shall be amended by adding at the end of subsection (k) the following paragraph:
All corporations and other institutions,
which employ mandated reporters not professionally licensed by the
commonwealth, shall institute a program to implement the reporting
requirements of this section. Such program shall include, at a minimum,
(i) the promulgation of a written protocol to be followed when a 51A
report is required; (ii) an education program for each mandated
reporter; and (iii) the posting, in a prominent public location, of the
requirements of this section and the penalties for non-compliance.
SECTION 3. Section 51A of Chapter 119 of the General
Laws, as most recently amended by Section 96 of Chapter 176 of the Acts
of 2008, shall be amended by inserting, in the last sentence of
subsection (c), the words "a sexual assault or" before the words "
serious bodily injury."SECTION 4. Section 51A of Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by Section 96 of Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2008, shall be amended by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following sentence:
Any corporation or other institution which
employs a mandated reporter who fails to make a report required by this
section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred
thousand dollars. It shall be a defense to any prosecution under this
section that the corporation or other institution had complied with the
requirements of subsection (k).
SECTION 5. Section 51A of Chapter 119 of the General
Laws, as most recently amended by Section 95 of Chapter 176 of the Acts
of 2008, shall be amended by adding at the end of subsection (a) the
following paragraph:
A mandated reporter who has reasonable
cause to believe that a person who is alleged to have sexually abused a
child in the past, presently represents a credible threat to a child
under the age of eighteen years in a child or youth serving
organization, shall have the same obligation to make oral and written
reports of such threat to the appropriate law enforcement agency or
official and the department.
SECTION 6. Chapter 258C of the General Laws is
hereby amended by striking out section 2 (b), as so appearing, and
inserting in place thereof the following section: -
(b) No compensation shall be paid under
this chapter unless the claimant demonstrates that the crime was
reported to the police or other law enforcement authorities or to an
agency or entity obligated by law to report complaints of criminal
misconduct to law enforcement authorities. Except in the case where the
division finds such report to have been delayed for good cause, such
report shall have been made within five days after the occurrence of
such crime. In the case of a claimant who was sexually abused as a
minor, such good cause shall include the report of any duly licensed
mental health professional stating an opinion that the claimant did not
make the connection between the sexual abuse and the harm suffered as a
result by the claimant at the time the abuse occurred, and that
claimant's failure to make the connection was consistent with the
typical responses by such victims of childhood sexual abuse.
SECTION 7. Chapter 258C of the General Laws is
hereby amended by striking out section 5 (a) (1), as so appearing, and
inserting in place thereof the following section: -
(a) (1) A claim for compensation under
this chapter shall be filed within three years of the date of the crime.
In the case of a claimant who was sexually abused as a minor, said
three years shall commence to run when the claimant first makes the
connection between the sexual abuse and the harm suffered as a result by
the claimant. The report of any duly licensed mental health
professional stating an opinion as to the date when the claimant first
made the connection between the sexual abuse and the harm suffered by
the claimant, and that the claimant's failure to make the connection
prior to that date was consistent with the typical responses by such
victims of childhood sexual abuse, shall be prima facie evidence in all
proceedings under this chapter.
SECTION 8. Chapter 277 of the General Laws is hereby
amended by adding at the end of section 63, as so appearing, the
following paragraph: -
Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, an indictment or complaint alleging an offense of indecent
assault and battery, or an offense of rape, may be found and filed at
any time after the commission of such offense, provided that the victim
was under the age of 18 when the offense was committed.
SECTION 9. Section 4C of Chapter 260 of the General
Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, shall be amended by
striking out the first paragraph thereof as so appearing, and inserting
in place thereof the following:
Any actions for assault and battery
alleging the defendant sexually abused a minor, or for negligence
alleging that the defendant negligently supervised a third person who
sexually abused a minor, or that the defendant's conduct caused or
contributed to the sexual abuse of a minor by a third person, may be
commenced at any time.
SECTION 10. Section 85K of Chapter 231 of the
General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, shall be
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, the limitations on liability set forth in this section
shall not apply if the claim is for intentional or negligent conduct
which caused or contributed to the sexual abuse of a minor. For purposes
of this section, "sexual abuse" shall be defined as set forth in
section 4C of chapter 260.
SECTION 11. Section 85W of Chapter 231 of the
General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, shall be
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, the limitations on liability set forth in this section
shall not apply if the claim is for intentional or negligent conduct
which caused or contributed to the sexual abuse of a minor. For purposes
of this section, "sexual abuse" shall be defined as set forth in
section 4C of chapter 260.
SECTION 12. The provisions of Sections 9, 10 &
11 shall apply to all claims under Section 4C of Chapter 260 which have
accrued, and to all actions which are pending, on the date upon which it
becomes effective.SECTION 13. The provisions of Sections 9, 10 & 11 shall be deemed to be retroactive to the fullest extent permitted under the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Rights of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
SECTION 14. The provisions of this bill shall become effective upon passage.
SECTION 15. Each section of this Act shall be separable and shall continue in effect if any provision hereof is deemed to be unconstitutional or otherwise ineffective.
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