[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4709 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4709

 To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to bring sexual assault 
  crimes under military law into parallel with sexual assault crimes 
               under Federal law, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2004

Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California introduced the following bill; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to bring sexual assault 
  crimes under military law into parallel with sexual assault crimes 
               under Federal law, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Sexual Assault Crimes 
Revision Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. MILITARY SEXUAL ABUSE.

    (a) Sexual Abuse.--Section 920 of title 10, United States Code 
(article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended to 
read as follows:
``Sec. 920. Art. 120. Sexual abuse
    ``(a) Any person subject to this chapter who knowingly--
            ``(1) causes another person to engage in a sexual act by 
        using force against that other person;
            ``(2) causes another person to engage in a sexual act by 
        threatening or placing that other person in fear that any 
        person will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or 
        kidnapping;
            ``(3) renders another person unconscious and thereby 
        engages in a sexual act with that other person; or
            ``(4) administers to another person by force or threat of 
        force, or without the knowledge or permission of that other 
        person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance and 
        thereby--
                    ``(A) substantially impairs the ability of that 
                other person to appraise or control conduct; and
                    ``(B) engages in a sexual act with that other 
                person;
is guilty of aggravated sexual abuse and shall be punished as a court-
martial may direct.
    ``(b) Any person subject to this chapter who knowingly engages in a 
sexual act with another person who has not attained the age of twelve 
years is guilty of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and shall be 
punished as a court-martial may direct. In a prosecution under this 
subsection, it need not be proven that the accused knew that the other 
person engaging in the sexual act had not attained the age of twelve 
years.
    ``(c) Any person subject to this chapter who knowingly--
            ``(1) causes another person to engage in a sexual act by 
        threatening or placing that other person in fear (other than by 
        threatening or placing that other person in fear that any 
        person will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or 
        kidnapping); or
            ``(2) engages in a sexual act with another person if that 
        other person is--
                    ``(A) incapable of appraising the nature of the 
                conduct; or
                    ``(B) physically incapable of declining 
                participation in, or communicating unwillingness to 
                engage in, that sexual act;
is guilty of sexual abuse and shall be punished as a court-martial may 
direct.
    ``(d)(1) Any person subject to this chapter who knowingly engages 
in a sexual act with another person who--
            ``(A) has attained the age of twelve years but has not 
        attained the age of sixteen years; and
            ``(B) is not that person's spouse;
is guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and shall be punished as a court-
martial may direct.
    ``(2) In a prosecution under this subsection, it need not be proven 
that the accused knew the age of the other person engaging in the 
sexual act.
    ``(3) In a prosecution under this subsection, it is an affirmative 
defense that the accused reasonably believed that the other person had 
attained the age of sixteen years. The accused has the burden of 
proving a defense under this paragraph by a preponderance of the 
evidence.
    ``(e) Any person subject to this chapter who knowingly engages in a 
sexual act with another person who is--
            ``(1) in official detention or confinement;
            ``(2) under the custodial, supervisory, or disciplinary 
        authority of the person so engaging; and
            ``(3) is not that person's spouse;
is guilty of sexual abuse of a prisoner and shall be punished as a 
court-martial may direct.
    ``(f) In this section, the term `sexual act' means--
            ``(1) contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis 
        and the anus, and for purposes of this subparagraph contact 
        involving the penis occurs upon penetration, however slight;
            ``(2) contact between the mouth and the penis, the mouth 
        and the vulva, or the mouth and the anus;
            ``(3) the penetration, however slight, of the anal or 
        genital opening of another by a hand or finger or by any 
        object, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or 
        arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person; or
            ``(4) the intentional touching, not through the clothing, 
        of the genitalia of another person who has not attained the age 
        of sixteen years with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, 
        degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any 
        person.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Paragraph (4) of section 918 of 
title 10, United States Code (article 118 of the Uniform Code of 
Military Justice), is amended by striking ``rape,'' and inserting 
``aggravated sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse of a child,''.
    (2) Subsection (b)(2)(B)(i) of section 843 of title 10, United 
States Code (article 43 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is 
amended by striking ``Rape or carnal knowledge'' and inserting 
``Aggravated sexual abuse of a child or sexual abuse of a minor''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 920 and inserting the following new item:

``920. Art. 120. Sexual abuse.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and apply 
with respect to offenses committed after such effective date.
    (e) Interim Maximum Punishments.--Until the President otherwise 
provides pursuant to section 856 of title 10, United States Code 
(article 56 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), the punishment 
which a court-martial may direct for an offense under section 920 of 
such title (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as 
amended by this section, may not exceed the following limits:
            (1) For aggravated sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse 
        of a child, such punishment may not exceed dishonorable 
        discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 
        confinement for life without eligibility for parole.
            (2) For sexual abuse or sexual abuse of a minor, such 
        punishment may not exceed dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of 
        all pay and allowances, and confinement for twenty years.
            (3) For sexual abuse of a prisoner, such punishment may not 
        exceed bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and 
        allowances, and confinement for one year.
    (f) No Preemption.--The prosecution or punishment of an accused for 
an offense under section 920 of title 10, United States Code (article 
120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by this 
section, does not preclude the prosecution or punishment of that 
accused for any other offense.
                                 <all>