2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 22 - Criminal Offenses and Penalties › Chapter 10 - Cruelty to Animals › § 22–1012.01. Prohibiting sexual contact between a person and animal

§ 22–1012.01. Prohibiting sexual contact between a person and animal.
(a) First degree. A person commits first degree sexual contact between a person and animal when the person knowingly causes another person to engage in sexual contact with an animal:
(1) By means of debt bondage or making an explicit or implicit coercive threat; or
(2) When, in fact, the other person is:
(A) Under 18 years of age; or
(B) A vulnerable adult.
(b) Second degree. A person commits second degree sexual contact between a person and animal when the person knowingly engages in a sexual contact with an animal.
(c) Defenses. It is an affirmative defense to liability under this section if the conduct constituting an offense is one of the following acts that is otherwise lawful:
(1) The practice of veterinary medicine, performed by a licensed veterinarian or a certified veterinary technician under the guidance of a licensed veterinarian;
(2) Artificial insemination of animals for the purpose of procreation;
(3) Animal husbandry practices, including raising, breeding or assisting with the birthing process of animals; or
(4) Any other practice that provides care for animals or conformation judging.
(d) Penalties. A person convicted of:
(1) First degree sexual contact between a person and animal shall be fined no more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or incarcerated for no more than 2 years, or both.
(2) Second degree sexual contact between a person and animal shall be fined no more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or incarcerated for no more than 180 days, or both.
(e) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term:
(1) "Coercive threat" means a communication that, unless the recipient of the communication complies, a person will:
(A) Engage in conduct that, in fact, constitutes a criminal offense;
(B) Take or withhold action as a public official, or cause a public official to take or withhold action;
(C) Accuse a person of a crime;
(D) Expose a secret, publicize an asserted fact, or distribute a photograph, video or audio recording, regardless of the truth or authenticity of the secret, fact, or item, that tends to subject another person to, or perpetuate:
(i) Hatred, contempt, ridicule, or other significant injury to personal; or
(ii) Significant injury to credit or business reputation;
(E) Notify a federal, state, or local government agency or official of, or publicize, another person's immigration or citizenship status;
(F) Restrict a person's access to either a controlled substance that the person owns or a prescription medication that the person owns; or
(G) Cause any harm that is sufficiently serious, under all the circumstances, to compel a reasonable person of the same background and in the same circumstances as the complainant to comply.
(2) "Debt bondage" means the status or condition of a person who provides services or commercial sex acts for a real or alleged debt, where:
(A) The value of the services or commercial sex acts, as reasonably assessed, is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt;
(B) The length and nature of the services or commercial sex acts are not respectively limited and defined; or
(C) The amount of the debt does not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for which the debt was incurred.
(3) "Sexual contact" means an act between a person and an animal for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, abuse, or financial gain that involves:
(A) Contact between the sex organs or anus of one and the mouth, anus or sex organs of the other;
(B) Touching or fondling by a person of the sex organs or anus of an animal, either directly or through clothing, without a bona fide veterinary or animal husbandry purpose;
(C) A transfer or transmission of semen by the person upon any part of the animal; or
(D) The insertion, however slight, of a part of a person's body or an object into the vaginal or anal opening of an animal or the insertion of a part of the animal's body into the vaginal or anal opening of the person.
(4) "Veterinary purpose" means the practice of veterinary medicine, performed by a licensed veterinarian or a certified veterinary, intended to address the medical condition of an animal, such as an existing or recurring illness, infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition that compromises the animal's health. The term "veterinary purpose" does not include cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or reasons of convenience in keeping or handling the animal.
(5) "Vulnerable adult" means a person who is 18 years of age or older and has one or more physical or mental limitations that substantially impairs the person's ability to independently provide for their daily needs or safeguard their person, property, or legal interests.
(Aug. 23, 1871, Leg. Assem., p. 137, ch. 106, § 11a; as added Apr. 21, 2023, D.C. Law 24-346, § 3(c), 70 DCR 570.)