H-4147.1 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2379
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State of Washington 57th Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By House Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections (originally sponsored by Representatives Dickerson, O'Brien, Tokuda, Veloria, Darneille, Chase, Kirby and Lovick)
Read first time 02/06/2002. Referred to Committee on .
AN ACT Relating to leaving a child with a sex offender; adding a new section to chapter 9A.42 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.42 RCW to read as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of the crime of criminal mistreatment in the fourth degree if the person is (a) the parent of a child; (b) entrusted with the physical custody of a child; or (c) employed to provide to the child the basic necessities of life, and leaves the child in the care or custody of another person who is not a parent, guardian, or lawful custodian of the child, knowing that the person is registered or required to register as a sex offender under the laws of this state, or a law or ordinance in another jurisdiction with similar requirements, because of a sex offense against a child.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to the charge of criminal mistreatment in the fourth degree under this section, that the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, that a court has entered an order allowing the offender to have unsupervised contact with children, or that the offender is allowed to have unsupervised contact with the child in question under a family reunification plan, which has been approved by a court, the department of corrections, or the department of social and health services in accordance with department policies.
(3) Criminal mistreatment in the fourth degree is a misdemeanor.
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