I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4123 

To amend chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code 

of Military Justice), to bring military sexual assault crimes into parallel 

with Federal sexual assault crimes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2004 

Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the 

Uniform Code of Military Justice), to bring military sexual assault crimes into parallel with Federal sexual assault crimes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Sexual Assault 

5 Crimes Revision Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. MILITARY SEXUAL ABUSE. 

2 (a) SEXUAL ABUSE.—Section 920 of title 10, United 

3 States Code (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military 

4 Justice), is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 920. Art. 120. Sexual abuse 

6 ‘‘(a) Any person subject to this chapter who know7 ingly causes another person to engage in a sexual act— 

8 ‘‘(1) by using force against that other person; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(2) by threatening or placing that other per11 son in fear that any person will be subjected to 

12 death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping; 

13 is guilty of aggravated sexual abuse and shall be punished 

14 as a court-martial may direct. 

15 ‘‘(b) Any person subject to this chapter who know16 ingly— 

17 ‘‘(1) renders another person unconscious and 

18 thereby engages in a sexual act with that other per19 son; or 

20 ‘‘(2) administers to another person by force or 

21 threat of force, or without the knowledge or permis22 sion of that other person, a drug, intoxicant, or 

23 other similar substance and thereby— 

24 ‘‘(A) substantially impairs the ability of 

25 that other person to appraise or control con26 duct; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) engages in a sexual act with that 

2 other person; 

3 is guilty of aggravated sexual abuse and shall be punished 

4 as a court-martial may direct. 

5 ‘‘(c) Any person subject to this chapter who know6 ingly engages in a sexual act with another person who has 

7 not attained the age of twelve years is guilty of aggravated 

8 sexual abuse of a child and shall be punished as a court9 martial may direct. In a prosecution under this subsection, 

10 it need not be proven that the accused knew that the other 

11 person engaging in the sexual act had not attained the 

12 age of twelve years. 

13 ‘‘(d) Any person subject to this chapter who know14 ingly— 

15 ‘‘(1) causes another person to engage in a sex16 ual act by threatening or placing that other person 

17 in fear (other than by threatening or placing that 

18 other person in fear that any person will be sub19 jected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnap20 ping); or 

21 ‘‘(2) engages in a sexual act with another per22 son if that other person is— 

23 ‘‘(A) incapable of appraising the nature of 

24 the conduct; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) physically incapable of declining par2 ticipation in, or communicating unwillingness to 

3 engage in, that sexual act; 

4 is guilty of sexual abuse and shall be punished as a court5 martial may direct. 

6 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person subject to this chapter who know7 ingly engages in a sexual act with another person who— 

8 ‘‘(A) has attained the age of twelve years but 

9 has not attained the age of sixteen years; 

10 ‘‘(B) is at least four years younger than the 

11 person so engaging; and 

12 ‘‘(C) is not that person’s spouse; 

13 is guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and shall be punished 

14 as a court-martial may direct. 

15 ‘‘(2) In a prosecution under this subsection, it need 

16 not be proven that the accused knew the age of the other 

17 person engaging in the sexual act or that the requisite age 

18 difference existed between the persons so engaging. 

19 ‘‘(3) In a prosecution under this subsection, it is an 

20 affirmative defense that the accused reasonably believed 

21 that the other person had attained the age of sixteen 

22 years. The accused has the burden of proving a defense 

23 under this paragraph by a preponderance of the evidence. 

24 ‘‘(f) Any person subject to this chapter who know25 ingly engages in a sexual act with another person who is— 
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1 ‘‘(1) in official detention or confinement; and 

2 ‘‘(2) under the custodial, supervisory, or dis3 ciplinary authority of the person so engaging; and 

4 ‘‘(3) is not that person’s spouse; 

5 is guilty of sexual abuse of a ward and shall be punished 

6 as a court-martial may direct. 

7 ‘‘(g) In this section, the term ‘sexual act’ means— 

8 ‘‘(1) contact between the penis and the vulva or 

9 the penis and the anus, and for purposes of this sub10 paragraph contact involving the penis occurs upon 

11 penetration, however slight; 

12 ‘‘(2) contact between the mouth and the penis, 

13 the mouth and the vulva, or the mouth and the 

14 anus; 

15 ‘‘(3) the penetration, however slight, of the anal 

16 or genital opening of another by a hand or finger or 

17 by any object, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, 

18 harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual de19 sire of any person; or 

20 ‘‘(4) the intentional touching, not through the 

21 clothing, of the genitalia of another person who has 

22 not attained the age of sixteen years with an intent 

23 to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or 

24 gratify the sexual desire of any person.’’. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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1 (1) MURDER.—Section 918(4) of title 10, 

2 United States Code (article 118 of the Uniform 

3 Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘sodomy, rape,’’ and inserting ‘‘aggravated sexual 

5 abuse, aggravated sexual abuse of a child,’’. 

6 (2) SODOMY.—Section 925 of title 10, United 

7 States Code (article 125 of the Uniform Code of 

8 Military Justice), is repealed. 

9 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

10 at the beginning of chapter 47 of title 10, United States 

11 Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking the item relating to section 925; 

13 and 

14 (2) by striking the item relating to section 920 

15 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘920. Art. 120. Sexual abuse.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply with respect to offenses committed 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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