SB272 Summary

• Amends sexual misconduct law to require lack of consent or consent obtained through fraud or artifice as elements of the crime, addressing an Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruling declaring the existing provision unconstitutional.

• Creates three new Class A misdemeanor offenses: rape in the third degree, sodomy in the third degree, and sexual abuse in the third degree, applying when the perpetrator is at least 12 but less than 16 years old and the victim is less than 12 years old.

• Adds the three new third-degree offenses to the list of sex offenses under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, with courts able to exempt or reduce registration periods for juvenile offenders convicted of sexual abuse in the third degree.

• Modifies the definition of incapacity to consent to include persons less than 16 years old, mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.

• Becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and approval by the Governor.