(1) A person is guilty of compounding if:

(a) He or she requests, accepts, or agrees to accept any pecuniary benefit pursuant to an agreement or understanding that he or she will refrain from initiating a prosecution for a crime; or

(b) He or she confers, or offers or agrees to confer, any pecuniary benefit upon another pursuant to an agreement or understanding that such other person will refrain from initiating a prosecution for a crime.

(2) In any prosecution under this section, it is a defense if established by a preponderance of the evidence that the pecuniary benefit did not exceed an amount which the defendant reasonably believed to be due as restitution or indemnification for harm caused by the crime.

(3) Compounding is a gross misdemeanor.