Bill > S2019

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the Sexual Assault Victims' Rights Act. The bill requires sexual assault victims to be notified of certain developments concerning the evidence in their case. Specifically, the bill expands the State's Crime Victim's Bill of Rights to give sexual assault victims the right to be informed if: (1) a DNA profile of an assailant was obtained from the processing of evidence in the sexual assault case; (2) a DNA profile of an assailant has been entered into any data bank designed or intended to be used for the retention or comparison of case evidence; (3) there is a match between the DNA profile of an assailant obtained in the sexual assault case to any DNA profile contained in any data bank designed or intended to be used for the retention or comparison of case evidence; and (4) sexual assault evidence is submitted to a forensic laboratory, if that evidence is compared against any data bank, and the results of the comparison. Under the bill, upon the request of a victim of a sexual assault offense, the law enforcement agency with the primary responsibility for investigating that sexual assault case is required to inform the victim of the status of the processing of all evidence collected in that case. The bill authorizes the victim to designate another person of the victim's choosing to receive information requested by the sexual assault victim or any notice required by the bill. The victim is responsible for keeping the law enforcement agency informed of the name, address, telephone number, and electronic mail address of the person to whom the information should be provided, and of any changes in this information.

Committee Categories

Diane Allen (R)*,  Anthony Bucco (R), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 04/18/2016)