Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 672
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 661546                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: RS            .                                
                  04/09/2013           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Latvala) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 161 and 162
    4  insert:
    5         Section 4. Section 985.702, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         985.702 Malicious infliction of cruel or inhuman treatment
    8  prohibited; reporting required; penalties.-
    9         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   10         (a) “Employee” means a paid staff member, volunteer, or
   11  intern who works in a department program or a program operated
   12  by a provider under a contract with the department.
   13         (b) “Juvenile offender” means any person of any age who is
   14  detained, or committed to the custody of, the department.
   15         (c) “Neglect of a juvenile offender” means:
   16         1. An employee’s failure or omission to provide a juvenile
   17  offender with the proper level of care, supervision, and
   18  services necessary to maintain the juvenile offender’s physical
   19  and mental health, including, but not limited to, adequate food,
   20  nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical
   21  services; or
   22         2. An employee’s failure to make a reasonable effort to
   23  protect a juvenile offender from abuse, neglect, or exploitation
   24  by another person.
   25         (2)(a) Any employee who, with malicious intent, inflicts
   26  cruel or inhuman treatment by neglect or otherwise, without
   27  causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
   28  disfigurement to a juvenile offender, commits a misdemeanor of
   29  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   30  775.083.
   31         (b) Any employee who, with malicious intent, inflicts cruel
   32  or inhuman treatment by neglect or otherwise, and in so doing
   33  causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
   34  disfigurement to a juvenile offender, commits a felony of the
   35  third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
   36  or s. 775.084.
   37         (c) Notwithstanding prosecution, any violation of paragraph
   38  (a) or paragraph (b), as determined by the Public Employees
   39  Relations Commission, constitutes sufficient cause under s.
   40  110.227 for dismissal from employment with the department, and
   41  such person may not again be employed in any capacity in
   42  connection with the juvenile justice system.
   43         (3) An employee who witnesses the infliction of cruel or
   44  inhuman treatment committed against a juvenile offender shall
   45  immediately report the incident to the department’s incident
   46  hotline and prepare, date, and sign an independent report that
   47  specifically describes the nature of the incident, the location
   48  and time of the incident, and the persons involved. The employee
   49  shall deliver the report to the employee’s supervisor or program
   50  director, who must provide copies to the department’s inspector
   51  general and the circuit juvenile justice manager. The inspector
   52  general shall immediately conduct an appropriate administrative
   53  investigation, and, if there is probable cause to believe that a
   54  violation of subsection (2) has occurred, the inspector general
   55  shall notify the state attorney in the circuit in which the
   56  incident occurred.
   57         (4)(a) Any person who is required to prepare a report under
   58  this section who knowingly or willfully fails to do so, or who
   59  knowingly or willfully prevents another person from doing so,
   60  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
   61  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   62         (b) Any person who knowingly or willfully submits
   63  inaccurate, incomplete, or untruthful information with respect
   64  to a report required under this section commits a misdemeanor of
   65  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   66  775.083.
   67         (c) Any person who knowingly or willfully coerces or
   68  threatens any other person with the intent to alter testimony or
   69  a written report regarding an incident of the infliction of
   70  cruel or inhuman treatment commits a felony of the third degree,
   71  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   72         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   73  985.701, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   74         985.701 Sexual misconduct prohibited; reporting required;
   75  penalties.—
   76         (1)(a)1. As used in this subsection, the term:
   77         a. “Sexual misconduct” means fondling the genital area,
   78  groin, inner thighs, buttocks, or breasts of a person; the oral,
   79  anal, or vaginal penetration by or union with the sexual organ
   80  of another; or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any
   81  other object. The term does not include an act done for a bona
   82  fide medical purpose or an internal search conducted in the
   83  lawful performance of duty by an employee of the department or
   84  an employee of a provider under contract with the department.
   85         b. “Employee” includes paid staff members, volunteers, and
   86  interns who work in a department program or a program operated
   87  by a provider under a contract.
   88         c. “Juvenile offender” means a person of any age who is
   89  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
   90  department.
   91         2. An employee who engages in sexual misconduct with a
   92  juvenile offender detained or supervised by, or committed to the
   93  custody of, the department commits a felony of the second
   94  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
   95  775.084. An employee may be found guilty of violating this
   96  subsection without having committed the crime of sexual battery.
   97         3. The consent of the juvenile offender to any act of
   98  sexual misconduct is not a defense to prosecution under this
   99  subsection.
  100         4. This subsection does not apply to an employee of the
  101  department, or an employee of a provider under contract with the
  102  department, who:
  103         a. Is legally married to a juvenile offender who is
  104  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
  105  department.
  106         b. Has no reason to believe that the person with whom the
  107  employee engaged in sexual misconduct is a juvenile offender
  108  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
  109  department.
  110  
  111  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  112         And the title is amended as follows:
  113         Delete line 12
  114  and insert:
  115         creating s. 985.702, F.S.; providing definitions;
  116         providing for the imposition of criminal penalties
  117         against specified employees who inflict cruel or
  118         inhuman treatment upon juvenile offenders; providing
  119         enhanced penalties for such treatment that results in
  120         great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
  121         disfigurement to a juvenile offender; specifying that
  122         such conduct constitutes sufficient cause for an
  123         employee’s dismissal from employment; prohibiting such
  124         employee from future employment with the juvenile
  125         justice system; providing incident reporting
  126         requirements; prohibiting an employee who witnesses
  127         such an incident from knowingly or willfully failing
  128         to report; prohibiting false reporting, preventing
  129         another from reporting, or coercing another to alter
  130         testimony or reports; providing penalties; amending s.
  131         985.701, F.S.; defining the term “juvenile offender”
  132         for purposes of prohibiting sexual misconduct with
  133         juvenile offenders; providing an effective date.