An Act To Extend the Application of Certain Rebuttable Presumptions in the Child Protection Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2013
Committee Amendment CA_A_H720 (House)
Amends: 18-A MRSA §9, 19-A MRSA §1653, 19-A MRSA §1803, 22 MRSA §4005-E, 22 MRSA §4035

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'l~ " 
to H.P. 1397, L.D. 2013, Bill, "An Act To 
Extend the Application of Certain Rebuttable Presumptions in the Child Protection Laws" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §9-304, sub-§(b-l), ~(1), as enacted by PL 2005, c. 366, 
§1, is amended to read: 
(1). 
Has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19-A, section 1653, subsection 
6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and the 
petitioner was at least 5 years older than the minor at the time of the offense except 
that, if the offense was gross sexual assault under Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 
1, paragraph B or C, or an offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is 
substantially similar to that contained in Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or C, and the minor victim submitted as a result of compulsion, the 
presumption applies regardless of the ages of the petitioner and the minor victim at 
the time of the offense; or 
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6-A, ~A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 366, §2, 
is further amended to read: 
A. 
For the purposes of this section, "child-related sexual offense" means the 
following sexual offenses if, at the time of the commission of the offense, the victim 
was under 18 years of age: 
(l) Sexual exploitation of a minor, under Title 17-A, section 282; 
(2) Gross sexual assault, under Title 17-A, section 253; 
(3) Sexual abuse of a minor, under Title 17-A, section 254; 
(4) Unlawful sexual contact, under Title 17-A, section 255-A or former section 
255; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~f:::J. 
~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "R " 
to H.P. 1397, L.D. 2013 
(5) Visual sexual aggression against a child, under Title 17-A, section 256; 
(6) Sexual misconduct with a child under 14 years of age, under Title 17-A, 
section 258; 
(6-A) Solicitation of a child by computer to commit a prohibited act, under Title 
17-A, section 259; or 
(7) An offense in another jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, that of a 
state, federal, military or tribal eourt, that ineludes the essential elements of an 
offense listed that involves conduct that is substantially similar to that contained 
in subparagraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) or (6-A). For purposes of this 
subparagraph, "another jurisdiction" means the Federal Government, the United 
States military, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa and each of the several states except Maine. 
"Another jurisdiction" also means the Passamaquoddy Tribe when that tribe has 
acted pursuant to Title 30, section 6209-A, subsection 1, paragraph A or Band 
the Penobscot Nation when that tribe has acted pursuant to Title 30, section 6209-
B, subsection 1, paragraph A or B. 
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6-B, ,A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 366, §3, is 
amended to read: 
A. 
Has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19 A, seetion 1653, subsection 
6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and the 
person was at least 5 years older than the minor at the time of the offense except that, 
if the offense was gross sexual assault under Title 17 -A, section 253, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or C, or an offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is 
substantially similar to that contained in Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or C, and the minor victim submitted as a result of compulsion, the 
presumption applies regardless of the ages of the person and the minor victim at the 
time of the offense; or 
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §1803, sub-§8, ,A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 366, §4, is 
amended to read: 
A. Has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19 A, section 1653, subsection 
6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and the 
grandparent was at least 5 years older than the minor at the time of the offense except 
that, if the offense was gross sexual assault under Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 
1, paragraph B or C, or an offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is 
substantially similar to that contained in Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or C, and the minor victim submitted as a result of compulsion, the 
presumption applies regardless of the ages of the grandparent and the minor victim at 
the time of the offense; or 
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §4005-E, sub-§3, ,A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 371, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
,,«0. 
~~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "R " 
to H.P. 1397, L.D. 2013 
A. 
Has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19-A, section 1653, subsection 
6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and the 
relative was at least 5 years older than the minor at the time of the offense except 
that, if the offense was gross sexual assault under Title 17 -A, section 253, subsection 
1, paragraph B or C, or an offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is 
substantially similar to that contained in Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or C, and the minor victim submitted as a result of compulsion, the 
presumption applies regardless of the ages of the relative and the minor victim at the 
time of the offense; or 
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §4035, sub-§2-A, ,A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 366, §7, is 
amended to read: 
A. 
That the person seeking custody or contact with the child would create a 
situation of jeopardy for the child if any contact were to be permitted and that contact 
is not in the best interest of the child if the court finds that the person: 
(l) 
Has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19-A, section 1653, 
subsection 6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor at the time of the 
offense and the person was at least 5 years older than the minor at the time of the 
offense except that, if the offense was gross sexual assault under Title 17-A, 
section 253, subsection I, paragraph B or C, or an offense in another jurisdiction 
that involves conduct that is substantially similar to that contained in Title 17-A, 
section 253, subsection 1, paragraph B or C, and the minor victim submitted as a 
result of compulsion, the presumption applies regardless of the ages of the person 
and the minor victim at the time of the offense; or 
(2) Has been adjudicated in an action under Title 22, chapter 1071 of sexually 
abusing a person who was a minor at the time of the abuse. 
The person seeking custody or contact with the child may produce evidence to rebut 
the presumption; and' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill but carries out the original intent to allow criminal 
convictions from other jurisdictions to be used as the basis of a rebuttable presumption in 
various court situations involving contact with children. 
Current law already allows consideration of offenses in another jurisdiction, 
including, but not limited to, that of a state, federal, military or tribal court, that include 
the essential elements of an offense listed in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 19-A, 
section 1653, subsection 6-A, paragraph A. This amendment allows the use of a 
rebuttable presumption that jeopardy exists when a child has contact with a person who 
was convicted of an offense that includes engaging in substantially similar conduct as 
gross sexual assault regardless of the ages of the person and the victim, if the minor 
victim submitted to the sexual act as a result of compulsion. 
This amendment amends Title 19-A, section 1653 to use language consistent with 
Maine Criminal Code terminology when referring to offenses in other jurisdictions, 
including a definition of "another jurisdiction." 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT