An Act To Prohibit Verbal Sexual Solicitation of a Child
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1673
Committee Amendment CA_A_S504 (Senate)
Amends: 15 MRSA §5821, 17-A MRSA §259, 17-A MRSA §259-A, 19-A MRSA §1653, 25 MRSA §1574, 34-A MRSA §1, 34-A MRSA §11203

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 572, L.D. 1673, Bill, "An Act To 
Prohibit Verbal Sexual Solicitation of a Child" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Prohibit the Sexual Solicitation of a Child by any Means' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
emergency clause and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §5821, sub-§7-A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 349, §2, is 
amended to read: 
7-A. Computers. Except as provided in paragraph A, all computers, as defined in 
Title 17 -A, section 431, subsection 2, and computer equipment, including, but not limited 
to, printers and scanners, that are used or are attempted to be used in violation of Title 
17-A, section ~ 
259-A. 
A. 
Property may not be forfeited under this subsection, to the extent of the interest 
of an owner, by reason of an act or omission established by that owner to have been 
committed or omitted without the knowledge or consent of the owner; and 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §259, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. B, §§9 to 11, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §259-A is enacted to read: 
§259-A. Solicitation of a child to commit a prohibited act 
1. A person is guilty of soliciting a child to commit a prohibited act if: 
A. The actor, with the intent to engage in a prohibited act with the other person, 
knowingly solicits directly or indirectly that person by any means to engage in a 
prohibited act and the actor: 
(1) Is at least 16 years of age; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 572, L.D. 1673 
(2) Knows or believes that the other person is less than 14 years of age; and 
(3) Is at least 3 years older than the age expressed by the other person. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; or 
B. The actor, with the intent to engage in a prohibited act with the other person, 
knowingly solicits directly or indirectly that person by any means to engage in a 
prohibited act and the actor: 
(1) Is at least 16 years of age; 
(2) Knows or believes that the other person is less than 12 years of age; and 
(3) Is at least 3 years older than the age expressed by the other person. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime. 
2. For purposes of this section, "prohibited act" means: 
A. A sexual act; 
B. Sexual contact; or 
C. Sexual exploitation of a minor pursuant to section 282. 
Sec.4. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6-A, ~A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 513, §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: 
(1) 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; 
(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 6ofl'l1*l:ter to commit a prohibited act, under Title 
17-A, section ~ 
259-A; or 
(7) An offense in another jurisdiction 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 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 572, L.D. 1673 
Passamaquoddy Tribe when that tribe has acted pursuant to Title 30, section 
6209-A, subsection 1, paragraph A or B and the Penobscot Nation when that tribe 
has acted pursuant to Title 30, section 6209-B, subsection 1, paragraph A or B. 
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §1574, sub-§5, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 1, §23, is amended 
to read: 
5. Applicable offenses for persons convicted on or after October I, 2001. +ffi.s 
Except as provided in paragraph G-1, this section applies to a person convicted on or after 
October 1, 2001 of one or more of the following offenses or an attempt of one or more of 
the following offenses: 
A. Murder; 
B. A Class A, B or C crime; 
C. Sexual abuse of a minor; 
D. Unlawful sexual contact; 
E. Visual sexual aggression against a child; 
F. Sexual contact with a child under 14 years of age; 
G. Solicitation of a child by a computer to commit a prohibited act; ef 
G-I. Solicitation of a child to commit a prohibited act on or after October 1, 2012; or 
H. Any lesser included offense of any crime identified in paragraphs A to G if the 
greater offense is initially charged. "Lesser included offense" has the same meaning 
as in Title I7-A, section 13-A. 
Sec. 6. 34-A MRSA §1l203, sub-§6,~, as amended by PL 2009, c. 365, Pt. B, 
§ 10 and affected by § 22, is further amended to read: 
B. A violation under former Title 17, section 2922; former Title 17, section 2923; 
former Title 17, section 2924; Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 2, paragraph E, F, 
G, H, I or J; Title I7-A, section 254; former Title I7-A, section 255, subsection 1, 
paragraph A, E, F, G, lor J; former Title 17-A, section 255, subsection 1, paragraph 
B or D if the crime was not elevated a class under former Title 17-A, section 255, 
subsection 3; Title I7-A, section 255-A, subsection 1, paragraph A, B, C, G, I, J, K, 
L, M, N, Q, R, S or T; Title 17-A, section 256; Title I7-A, section 258; former Title 
17-A, section 259; Title 17-A, section 282; Title 17-A, section 283; Title 17-A, 
section 284; Title 17-A, section 301, subsection 1, paragraph A, subparagraph (3), 
unless the actor is a parent of the victim; Title 17-A, section 511, subsection 1, 
paragraph D; Title I7-A, section 556; Title I7-A, section 852, subsection 1, 
paragraph B; or Title 17-A, section 855; 
Sec. 7. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§6-B is enacted to read: 
6-B. Sex offense; after October 1, 2012. For persons convicted and sentenced on 
or after October 1, 2012, "sex offense" means, in addition to the offenses listed in 
subsections 6 and 6-A: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 572, LD. 1673 
A. A conviction for an offense under Title 17 -A, section 259-A or for an attempt or 
conspiracy to commit an offense under Title 17-A, section 259-A; 
B. 
A violation in another jurisdiction that includes the essential elements of an 
offense listed under Title 17-A, section 259-A; or 
C. 
A conviction for a military, tribal or federal offense requiring registration 
pursuant to: 
(1) 
The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent 
Offender Registration Act, also known as the Jacob Wetterling Act, Section 
170101 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public 
Law 103-322, as amended; or 
(2) The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, Public Law 109-
248.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill, which creates a new crime of verbally soliciting a 
child to commit a prohibited sexual act. This amendment repeals the current law that 
makes it a crime to solicit a child by use of a computer and provides that a person may 
not solicit a child by any means for the purpose of engaging in a prohibited sexual act. 
FISCAL .\OTE REQuIRED 
(See attached) 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/28/12 
;t?.czc. 
LD 1673 
LR2324(02) 
An Act To Prohibit Verbal Sexual Solicitation of a Child 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" A" S -50+ 
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes new Class C and Class D crimes; may increase correctional and judicial costs by a minor amount. 
LR2324(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1