Sexual Offenses

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changing Laws About Continuous Sexual Abuse of Children

This bill changes Tennessee's laws about continuous sexual abuse of a child by lowering the time period from 90 days to 30 days and requiring at least three incidents of abuse.

What This Bill Does

• Changes the definition of continuous sexual abuse of a child to require that it happens over 30 days instead of 90 days.
• Requires that there be at least three separate incidents of abuse for it to be considered continuous sexual abuse.
• Says one incident must happen after July 1, 2026, in the county where charges are filed.
• Makes sure all jury members agree unanimously on whether a person committed multiple acts of abuse over 30 days.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who commit sexual abuse against children
• Law enforcement and courts dealing with child abuse cases

Terms To Know

Continuous Sexual Abuse

When someone abuses a child multiple times over a period of at least 30 days.

Unanimous Jury Agreement

All jury members must agree on the same verdict for it to be valid in court.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how many victims are needed, only that there must be at least three incidents of abuse.
• It is unclear if this change will lead to more convictions or better protection for children.

Official Summary Text

Present law makes it a Class A felony offense to commit continuous sexual abuse of a child. A person commits continuous sexual abuse of a child if the person engages in multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child over a period of at least 90 days.

This bill, instead, provides that a person commits continuous sexual abuse of a child if the person engages in multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child over a period of at least 30 days. As used in this bill, "multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child" m
eans engaging in three or more incidents of sexual abuse of one or more minor children on separate occasions, at least one such incident must have occurred on or after July 1, 2026. Further, the victims of the incidents or the incidents themselves must s
ha
re distinctive, common characteristics, qualities, or circumstances with respect to each other or to the person committing the offenses, allowing otherwise individual offenses to merge into a single continuing offense.

In order to convict a person of continuous sexual abuse of a child, this bill requires the jury to agree unanimously that during a period that is at least 30 days or more in duration, the defendant committed multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1954
By Lowe

HOUSE BILL 2377
By Doggett
HB2377
010793
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 13, Part 5, relative to sexual offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-518(a)(1)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(A) Engaging in three (3) or more incidents of sexual abuse of one (1) or more
minor children on separate occasions; provided, that at least one (1) such incident
occurred within the county in which the charge is filed and that one (1) such incident
occurred on or after July 1, 2026; and
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-518(b), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(b) A person commits continuous sexual abuse of a child who, during a period
that is thirty (30) days or more in duration, engages in multiple acts of sexual abuse of a
child as defined in subdivision (a)(1).
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-518(e), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(e) The jury must agree unanimously that during a period that is thirty (30) days
or more in duration, the defendant committed multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child as
defined in subdivision (a)(1).
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to acts committed on or after that date.