Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced three bills which are intended to address several public safety issues in Alaska. The three pieces of legislation focus on statutory changes in sex trafficking, victim protection, and sex offenses by putting people first and making Alaska safer. The three bills are a portion of the People First Initiative.
The Sex Trafficking Bill provides a new offense series and sentencing that classifies sex trafficking as a crime against a person and amends the conduct criminalized to address how trafficking occurs. Additionally, the legislation targets those who patronize those engaging in sex work; a patron of a sex trafficking victim is a class B sex felony if the victim is under 18 years of age, and a class C sex felony if the person is over 18 years of age. The offense is also a registerable sex offense.
The Victim Protection Bill makes multiple statutory changes to protect Alaska’s crime victims. It requires the defendant to give the prosecutor 48 hours’ notice of a request to modify bail. It also requires the judge to issue written findings explaining how the bail and conditions of release will ensure the appearance of the defendant and protection of the victim and community. The legislation creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who has previously violated their conditions of release will not appear and will pose a danger to the victim and community. It requires some additional jail time imposed for each conviction for the crime of violation of conditions of release.
The Sex Offenses Bill creates a class C felony offense for sexual contact where there is no force or the threat of force. The offense would be a registerable sex offense upon the second conviction. The legislation closes the gap in Alaska’s current criminal laws on sex offenses. The bill updates Alaska’s sex offender registration by categorizing additional offenses, such as sending an explicit image of a minor and misconduct involving a corpse, registerable.
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