Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 672
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 913538                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/09/2013           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Latvala) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Substitute for Amendment (661546) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 161 and 162
    5  insert:
    6         Section 4. Section 985.702, Florida Statutes, is created to
    7  read:
    8         985.702 Malicious infliction of cruel or inhuman treatment
    9  prohibited; reporting required; penalties.-
   10         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   11         (a) “Employee” means a paid staff member, volunteer, or
   12  intern who works in a department program or a program operated
   13  by a provider under a contract with the department.
   14         (b) “Juvenile offender” means any person of any age who is
   15  detained, or committed to the custody of, the department.
   16         (c) “Neglect of a juvenile offender” means:
   17         1. An employee’s failure or omission to provide a juvenile
   18  offender with the proper level of care, supervision, and
   19  services necessary to maintain the juvenile offender’s physical
   20  and mental health, including, but not limited to, adequate food,
   21  nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical
   22  services; or
   23         2. An employee’s failure to make a reasonable effort to
   24  protect a juvenile offender from abuse, neglect, or exploitation
   25  by another person.
   26         (2)(a) Any employee who, with malicious intent, inflicts
   27  cruel or inhuman treatment by neglect or otherwise, without
   28  causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
   29  disfigurement to a juvenile offender, commits a misdemeanor of
   30  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   31  775.083.
   32         (b) Any employee who, with malicious intent, inflicts cruel
   33  or inhuman treatment by neglect or otherwise, and in so doing
   34  causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
   35  disfigurement to a juvenile offender, commits a felony of the
   36  second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
   37  or s. 775.084.
   38         (c) Notwithstanding prosecution, any violation of paragraph
   39  (a) or paragraph (b), as determined by the Public Employees
   40  Relations Commission, constitutes sufficient cause under s.
   41  110.227 for dismissal from employment with the department, and
   42  such person may not again be employed in any capacity in
   43  connection with the juvenile justice system.
   44         (3) An employee who witnesses the infliction of cruel or
   45  inhuman treatment committed against a juvenile offender shall
   46  immediately report the incident to the department’s incident
   47  hotline and prepare, date, and sign an independent report that
   48  specifically describes the nature of the incident, the location
   49  and time of the incident, and the persons involved. The employee
   50  shall deliver the report to the employee’s supervisor or program
   51  director, who must provide copies to the department’s inspector
   52  general and the circuit juvenile justice manager. The inspector
   53  general shall immediately conduct an appropriate administrative
   54  investigation, and, if there is probable cause to believe that a
   55  violation of subsection (2) has occurred, the inspector general
   56  shall notify the state attorney in the circuit in which the
   57  incident occurred.
   58         (4)(a) Any person who is required to prepare a report under
   59  this section who knowingly or willfully fails to do so, or who
   60  knowingly or willfully prevents another person from doing so,
   61  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
   62  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   63         (b) Any person who knowingly or willfully submits
   64  inaccurate, incomplete, or untruthful information with respect
   65  to a report required under this section commits a misdemeanor of
   66  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   67  775.083.
   68         (c) Any person who knowingly or willfully coerces or
   69  threatens any other person with the intent to alter testimony or
   70  a written report regarding an incident of the infliction of
   71  cruel or inhuman treatment commits a felony of the third degree,
   72  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   73         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   74  985.701, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   75         985.701 Sexual misconduct prohibited; reporting required;
   76  penalties.—
   77         (1)(a)1. As used in this subsection, the term:
   78         a. “Sexual misconduct” means fondling the genital area,
   79  groin, inner thighs, buttocks, or breasts of a person; the oral,
   80  anal, or vaginal penetration by or union with the sexual organ
   81  of another; or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any
   82  other object. The term does not include an act done for a bona
   83  fide medical purpose or an internal search conducted in the
   84  lawful performance of duty by an employee of the department or
   85  an employee of a provider under contract with the department.
   86         b. “Employee” includes paid staff members, volunteers, and
   87  interns who work in a department program or a program operated
   88  by a provider under a contract.
   89         c. “Juvenile offender” means a person of any age who is
   90  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
   91  department.
   92         2. An employee who engages in sexual misconduct with a
   93  juvenile offender detained or supervised by, or committed to the
   94  custody of, the department commits a felony of the second
   95  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
   96  775.084. An employee may be found guilty of violating this
   97  subsection without having committed the crime of sexual battery.
   98         3. The consent of the juvenile offender to any act of
   99  sexual misconduct is not a defense to prosecution under this
  100  subsection.
  101         4. This subsection does not apply to an employee of the
  102  department, or an employee of a provider under contract with the
  103  department, who:
  104         a. Is legally married to a juvenile offender who is
  105  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
  106  department.
  107         b. Has no reason to believe that the person with whom the
  108  employee engaged in sexual misconduct is a juvenile offender
  109  detained or supervised by, or committed to the custody of, the
  110  department.
  111  
  112  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  113         And the title is amended as follows:
  114         Delete line 12
  115  and insert:
  116         creating s. 985.702, F.S.; providing definitions;
  117         providing for the imposition of criminal penalties
  118         against specified employees who inflict cruel or
  119         inhuman treatment upon juvenile offenders; providing
  120         enhanced penalties for such treatment that results in
  121         great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent
  122         disfigurement to a juvenile offender; specifying that
  123         such conduct constitutes sufficient cause for an
  124         employee’s dismissal from employment; prohibiting such
  125         employee from future employment with the juvenile
  126         justice system; providing incident reporting
  127         requirements; prohibiting an employee who witnesses
  128         such an incident from knowingly or willfully failing
  129         to report; prohibiting false reporting, preventing
  130         another from reporting, or coercing another to alter
  131         testimony or reports; providing penalties; amending s.
  132         985.701, F.S.; defining the term “juvenile offender”
  133         for purposes of prohibiting sexual misconduct with
  134         juvenile offenders; providing an effective date.