[T]he Vermont House on Thursday approved a bill that would forbid sexual conduct between a law enforcement officer and an individual being held in custody.
A person convicted of the offense would face up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
The bill, H.19, sponsored by Rep. Selene Colburn, P-Burlington, passed on a voice vote with no debate. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration in that chamber.
“No law enforcement officer shall engage in a sexual act with a person whom the officer is detaining, arresting, or otherwise holding in custody or who the officer knows is being detained, arrested, or otherwise held in custody by another officer,” the bill reads.
Colburn said a person in custody lacks the ability to consent.
The legislation is similar to a statute currently on the books that forbids sexual conduct between correctional officers and prisoners, she added.
Just last week a corrections officer in Springfield prison, Cameron Morin, 21, of Newfane, was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct and sexual exploitation of an inmate.
Colburn said while people may have thought a similar statute was in place regarding law enforcement in Vermont, that isn’t the case. She said national reports last year on the topic indicated that Vermont had no such law, prompting the proposed legislation.
The bill was taken up last year but, despite receiving overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, it never made it out of a conference committee as the session drew to a close.
“It didn’t cross the finish line,” Colburn said of the legislation last year, adding that it wasn’t the bill itself, but other late-session conference committee factors that shelved the measure.
In fact, Colburn said, she has never heard anyone who opposes the legislation.
Vermont Network Against Domestic & Sexual Violence as well as the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services both supported the proposed legislation. In addition, law enforcement organizations from across the state are backing the bill.
“Preserving the integrity of our system of law enforcement requires that when such a significant breach of trust occurs, the law does not require prosecutors to prove that the victim did not consent to the sex act,” Chris Fenno, CCVS executive director, said before House panel.
“A person who is under arrest, in custody, or detained in some manner is not capable of giving meaningful, voluntary consent,” she added. “Further, no legitimate reason exists to allow even truly voluntary sexual contact in this setting.”
The bill last week moved out of the House Judiciary Committee on an 11-0 vote.