Stautory rape; revise elements when both are dating and in secondary school.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Karriem

HOUSE BILL NO. 1428

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE THE ELEMENTS OF STATUTORY RAPE WHEN BOTH ARE DATING AND 2
SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. Section 97-3-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 5
amended as follows: 6
97-3-65. (1) The crime of statutory rape is committed when: 7
(a) Any person seventeen (17) years of age or older has 8
sexual intercourse with a child who: 9
(i) Is at least fourteen (14) but under sixteen 10
(16) years of age; or 11
(ii) Is thirty-six (36) or more months younger 12
than the person; and 13
(iii) Is not the person's spouse; or 14
(iv) Is not in a consensual relationship with the 15
child while both persons are enrolled as students in secondary 16
school in the State of Mississippi. 17
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(b) A person of any age has sexual intercourse with a 18
child who: 19
(i) Is under the age of fourteen (14) years; and 20
(ii) Is twenty-four (24) or more months younger 21
than the person. 22
(c) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 23
statutory rape is not committed if it is proven by a preponderance 24
of the evidence that both persons were in a consensual 25
relationship with each other and both persons were enrolled as 26
secondary school students at the time of the alleged offense. For 27
purposes of this paragraph, the term "secondary school students" 28
means any person enrolled as a student in grades seven through 29
twelve in Mississippi. 30
(2) Neither the victim's consent nor the victim's lack of 31
chastity is a defense to a charge of statutory rape. 32
(3) Upon conviction for statutory rape, the defendant shall 33
be sentenced as follows: 34
(a) If eighteen (18) years of age or older, but under 35
twenty-one (21) years of age, and convicted under subsection 36
(1)(a) of this section, to imprisonment for not more than five (5) 37
years in the State Penitentiary or a fine of not more than Five 38
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both; 39
(b) If twenty-one (21) years of age or older and 40
convicted under subsection (1)(a) of this section, to imprisonment 41
of not more than thirty (30) years in the State Penitentiary or a 42
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fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both, 43
for the first offense, and not more than forty (40) years in the 44
State Penitentiary for each subsequent offense; 45
(c) If eighteen (18) years of age or older and 46
convicted under subsection (1)(b) of this section, to imprisonment 47
for life in the State Penitentiary or such lesser term of 48
imprisonment as the court may determine, but not less than twenty 49
(20) years; 50
(d) If thirteen (13) years of age or older but under 51
eighteen (18) years of age and convicted under subsection (1)(a) 52
or (1)(b) of this section, such imprisonment, fine or other 53
sentence as the court, in its discretion, may determine. 54
(4) (a) Every person who shall have forcible sexual 55
intercourse with any person, or who shall have sexual intercourse 56
not constituting forcible sexual intercourse or statutory rape 57
with any person without that person's consent by administering to 58
such person any substance or liquid which shall produce such 59
stupor or such imbecility of mind or weakness of body as to 60
prevent effectual resistance, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned 61
for life in the State Penitentiary if the jury by its verdict so 62
prescribes; and in cases where the jury fails to fix the penalty 63
at life imprisonment, the court shall fix the penalty at 64
imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for any term as the court, 65
in its discretion, may determine. 66
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(b) This subsection (4) shall apply whether the 67
perpetrator is married to the victim or not. 68
(5) In all cases where a victim is under the age of sixteen 69
(16) years, it shall not be necessary to prove penetration where 70
it is shown the genitals, anus or perineum of the child have been 71
lacerated or torn in the attempt to have sexual intercourse with 72
the child. 73
(6) (a) Upon conviction under this section, the court may 74
issue a criminal sexual assault protection order prohibiting the 75
offender from any contact with the victim, without regard to the 76
relationship between the victim and offender. The court may 77
include in a criminal sexual assault protection order any relief 78
available under Section 93-21-15. The term of a criminal sexual 79
assault protection order shall be for a time period determined by 80
the court, but all orders shall, at a minimum, remain in effect 81
for a period of two (2) years after the expiration of any sentence 82
of imprisonment and subsequent period of community supervision, 83
conditional release, probation, or parole. Upon issuance of a 84
criminal sexual assault protection order, the clerk of the issuing 85
court shall enter the order in the Mississippi Protection Order 86
Registry within twenty-four (24) hours of issuance, with no 87
exceptions for weekends or holidays as provided in Section 88
93-21-25, and a copy must be provided to both the victim and 89
offender. 90
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(b) Criminal sexual assault protection orders shall be 91
issued on the standardized form developed by the Office of the 92
Attorney General. 93
(c) It is a misdemeanor to knowingly violate any 94
condition of a criminal sexual assault protection order. Upon 95
conviction for a violation, the defendant shall be punished by a 96
fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by 97
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, 98
or both. Any sentence imposed for the violation of a criminal 99
sexual assault protection order shall run consecutively to any 100
other sentences imposed on the offender. The court shall also be 101
empowered to extend the criminal sexual assault protection order 102
for a period of one (1) year for each violation. The 103
incarceration of a person at the time of the violation is not a 104
bar to prosecution under this section. Nothing in this subsection 105
shall be construed to prohibit the imposition of any other 106
penalties or disciplinary action otherwise allowed by law or 107
policy. 108
(7) For the purposes of this section, "sexual intercourse" 109
shall mean a joining of the sexual organs of a male and female 110
human being in which the penis of the male is inserted into the 111
vagina of the female or the penetration of the sexual organs of a 112
male or female human being in which the penis or an object is 113
inserted into the genitals, anus or perineum of a male or female. 114
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ST: Stautory rape; revise elements when both
are dating and in secondary school.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 115
and after July 1, 2026. 116