BILL REQ. #: H-1451.1
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
Read first time 02/17/2003. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.
AN ACT Relating to sex offenses against children; adding new sections to chapter 9A.44 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 9A.44 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of rape of a child in the fourth degree when
the person has sexual intercourse with another who is at least sixteen
years old but less than eighteen years old and not married to the
perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least five years older than the
victim.
(2) Rape of a child in the fourth degree is a gross misdemeanor.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 9A.44 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of child molestation in the fourth degree
when the person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age
of eighteen to have, sexual contact with another who is at least
sixteen years old but less than eighteen years old and not married to
the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least five years older than
the victim.
(2) Child molestation in the fourth degree is a gross misdemeanor.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 9A.44 RCW
to read as follows:
In a prosecution under section 1 or 2 of this act, it is an
affirmative defense that the defendant must prove by a preponderance of
the evidence that the defendant did not know that the minor was sixteen
or seventeen years of age.