Bill > H445

This bill, titled "Relative to the protection of children," aims to strengthen protections against assault and battery or sexual abuse of minors by amending existing laws. Specifically, it revises Section 13B of Chapter 265 of the General Laws, which deals with indecent assault and battery on a minor under 14 years old, by establishing stricter age difference requirements for consent and mandating that prosecutions under this section cannot be dismissed without a finding or placed on file, meaning they must proceed to a verdict. It also modifies Section 23 of the same chapter, which addresses sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, by introducing new conditions related to the age difference between the defendant and the minor, and also prevents prosecutions from being dismissed or placed on file. Furthermore, for defendants under 17 years old at the time of the offense, the bill mandates that prosecutions under these sections must be initiated in juvenile court or a juvenile session of a district court, overriding other laws that might allow for different proceedings. Finally, Section 4 of Chapter 272 of the General Laws is repealed, and the act takes effect immediately upon its passage.