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MONTANA

 

The information provided is not for commercial use it is intended only for informational use. There has been no attempt to make a complete list of all or related statutes. There is no guarantee of the completeness or accuracy of the information provided. Please Seek Professional Legal advice and visit the State’s official web site and consult the Bound Volumes of the State’s Statutes for more information.

 

URL: LAWLIBRARY.STATE.MT.US

 

 

Title 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON

Part 5. Sexual Crimes

45-5-501. Definition.

(1) As used in 45-5-503, the term "without consent" means:

     (a) the victim is compelled to submit by force against the victim or another; or

     (b) the victim is incapable of consent because the victim is:

     (i) mentally defective or incapacitated;

     (ii) physically helpless;

     (iii) overcome by deception, coercion, or surprise;

     (iv) less than 16 years old; or

     (v) incarcerated in an adult or juvenile correctional, detention, or treatment facility and the perpetrator is an employee, contractor, or volunteer of the facility

and has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim, unless the act is part of a lawful search.

     (2) As used in subsection (1), the term "force" means:

     (a) the infliction, attempted infliction, or threatened infliction of bodily injury or the commission of a forcible felony by the offender; or

     (b) the threat of substantial retaliatory action that causes the victim to reasonably believe that the offender has the ability to execute the threat.

 

45-5-502. Sexual assault.

(1) A person who knowingly subjects another person to any sexual contact without consent commits the offense of sexual assault.

(2) A person convicted of sexual assault shall be fined not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months, or both.

(3) If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing sexual assault, the offender shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years, unless the judge makes a written finding that there is good cause to impose a term of less than 4 years and imposes a term of less than 4 years, or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000.

(4) An act "in the course of committing sexual assault" includes an attempt to commit the offense or flight after the attempt or commission.

(5) Consent is ineffective under this section if:

(a) the victim is incarcerated in an adult or juvenile correctional, detention, or treatment facility and the perpetrator is an employee, contractor, or volunteer of the facility and has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim, unless the act is part of a lawful search; or

(b) the victim is less than 14 years old and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim.

 

 45-5-503. Sexual intercourse without consent.

(1) A person who knowingly has sexual intercourse without consent with another person commits the offense of sexual intercourse without consent. A person may not be convicted under this section based on the age of the person's spouse, as provided in 45-5-501(1)(b)(iv).

(2) A person convicted of sexual intercourse without consent shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, except as provided in 46-18-219 and 46-18-222.

(3) (a) If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing sexual intercourse without consent, the offender shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, except as provided in 46-18-219 and 46-18-222.

(b) If two or more persons are convicted of sexual intercourse without consent with the same victim in an incident in which each offender was present at the location where another offender's offense occurred during a time period in which each offender could have reasonably known of the other's offense, each offender shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 5 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than 50,000, except as provided in 46-18-219 and 46-18-222.

(c) If the offender was previously convicted of an offense under this section or of an offense under the laws of another state or of the United States that if committed in this state would be an offense under this section and if the offender inflicted serious bodily injury upon a person in the course of committing each offense, the offender shall be:

     (i) punished by death as provided in 46-18-301 through 46-18-310, unless the offender is less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense; or

     (ii) punished as provided in 46-18-219.

(d) If the victim was incarcerated in an adult or juvenile correctional, detention, or treatment facility at the time of the offense and the offender had supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim, the offender shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not more than 5 years or fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both.

(4) In addition to any sentence imposed under subsection (2) or (3), after determining the financial resources and future ability of the offender to pay restitution as required by 46-18-242, the court shall require the offender, if able, to pay the victim's reasonable medical and counseling costs that result from the offense. The amount, method, and time of payment must be determined in the same manner as provided for in 46-18-244.

(5) As used in subsection (3), an act "in the course of committing sexual intercourse without consent" includes an attempt to commit the offense or flight after the attempt or commission.

 

 

 45-5-504. Indecent exposure.

(1) A person commits the offense of indecent exposure if the person knowingly or purposely exposes the person's genitals under circumstances in which the person knows the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm in order to:

(a) abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade another; or

(b) arouse or gratify the person's own sexual response or desire or the sexual response or desire of any person.

(2) (a) A person convicted of the offense of indecent exposure shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term of not more than 6 months, or both.

(b) On a second conviction, the person shall be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term of not more than 1 year, or both.

(c) On a third or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in a state prison for a term of not less than 5 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $10,000

 

 

 45-5-505. Deviate sexual conduct.

(1) A person who knowingly engages in deviate sexual relations or who causes another to engage in deviate sexual relations commits the offense of deviate sexual conduct.

(2) A person convicted of the offense of deviate sexual conduct shall be imprisoned in the state prison for any term not to exceed 10 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both.

(3) The fact that a person seeks testing or receives treatment for the HIV-related virus or another sexually transmitted disease may not be used as a basis for a prosecution under this section and is not admissible in evidence in a prosecution under this section.

 

 

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45-5-507. Incest.

(1) A person commits the offense of incest if the person knowingly marries, cohabits with, has sexual intercourse with, or has sexual contact, as defined in 45-2-101, with an ancestor, a descendant, a brother or sister of the whole or half blood, or any stepson or stepdaughter. The relationships referred to in this subsection include blood relationships without regard to legitimacy, relationships of parent and child by adoption, and relationships involving a stepson or stepdaughter.

(2) Consent is a defense under this section to incest with or upon a stepson or stepdaughter, but consent is ineffective if the victim is less than 18 years old.

(3) A person convicted of incest shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed 100 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000.

(4) If the victim is under 16 years of age and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing incest, the offender shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000.

(5) In addition to any sentence imposed under subsection (3) or (4), after determining the financial resources and future ability of the offender to pay restitution as required by 46-18-242, the court shall require the offender, if able, to pay the victim's reasonable costs of counseling that result from the offense. The amount, method, and time of payment must be determined in the same manner as provided for in 46-18-244.

 

 

Part 6. Offenses Against the Family

 45-5-622. Endangering welfare of children.

(1) A parent, guardian, or other person supervising the welfare of a child less than 18 years old commits the offense of endangering the welfare of children if the parent, guardian, or other person knowingly endangers the child's welfare by violating a duty of care, protection, or support.

(2) Except as provided in 16-6-305, a parent or guardian or any person who is 18 years of age or older, whether or not the parent, guardian, or other person is supervising the welfare of the child, commits the offense of endangering the welfare of children if the parent, guardian, or other person knowingly contributes to the delinquency of a child less than:

     (a) 18 years old by:

(i) supplying or encouraging the use of an intoxicating substance by the child; or

(ii) assisting, promoting, or encouraging the child to enter a place of prostitution; or

(b) 16 years old by assisting, promoting, or encouraging the child to:

(i) abandon the child's place of residence without the consent of the child's parents or guardian; or

(ii) engage in sexual conduct.

(3) A parent, guardian, or other person supervising the welfare of a child less than 16 years of age may verbally or in writing request a person who is 18 years of age or older and who has no legal right of supervision or control over the child to stop contacting the child if the requestor believes that the contact is not in the child's best interests. If the person continues to contact the child, the parent, guardian, or other person supervising the welfare of the child may petition or the county attorney may upon the person's request petition for an order of protection under Title 40, chapter 15. To the extent that they are consistent with this subsection, the provisions of Title 40, chapter 15, apply. A person who purposely or knowingly violates an order of protection commits the offense of endangering the welfare of children and upon conviction shall be sentenced as provided in subsection (4).

(4) A person convicted of endangering the welfare of children shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for any term not to exceed 6 months, or both. A person convicted of a second offense of endangering the welfare of children shall be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for any term not to exceed 6 months, or both.

(5) On the issue of whether there has been a violation of the duty of care, protection, and support, the following, in addition to all other admissible evidence, is admissible: cruel treatment; abuse; infliction of unnecessary and cruel punishment; abandonment; neglect; lack of proper medical care, clothing, shelter, and food; and evidence of past bodily injury.

(6) The court may order, in its discretion, any fine levied or any bond forfeited upon a charge of endangering the welfare of children paid to or for the benefit of the person or persons whose welfare the defendant has endangered.

 

45-5-625. Sexual abuse of children.

(1) A person commits the offense of sexual abuse of children if the person:

     (a) knowingly employs, uses, or permits the employment or use of a child in an exhibition of sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

     (b) knowingly photographs, films, videotapes, develops or duplicates the photographs, films, or videotapes, or records a child engaging in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

     (c) knowingly, by any means of communication, including electronic communication as defined in 45-8-213, persuades, entices, counsels, or procures a child under 16 years of age or a person the offender believes to be a child under 16 years of age to engage in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

    (d) knowingly processes, develops, prints, publishes, transports, distributes, sells, exhibits, or advertises any visual or print medium, including a medium by use of electronic communication, as defined in 45-8-213, in which a child is engaged in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

     (e) knowingly possesses any visual or print medium, including a medium by use of electronic communication, as defined in 45-8-213, in which a child is engaged in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

     (f) finances any of the activities described in subsections (1)(a) through (1)(d) and (1)(g), knowing that the activity is of the nature described in those subsections; or

     (g) possesses with intent to sell any visual or print medium, including a medium by use of electronic communication, as defined in 45-8-213, in which a child is engaged in sexual conduct, actual or simulated.

(2) (a) A person convicted of the offense of sexual abuse of children shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed 100 years and may be fined not more than $10,000.

     (b) Except as provided in 46-18-219, if the victim is under 16 years of age, a person convicted of the offense of sexual abuse of children shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $10,000.

     (c) Except as provided in 46-18-219, a person convicted of the offense of sexual abuse of children for the possession of material, as provided in subsection (1)(e), shall be fined not to exceed $10,000 or be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years, or both.

(3) An offense is not committed under subsections (1)(d) through (1)(g) if the visual or print medium is processed, developed, printed, published, transported, distributed, sold, possessed, or possessed with intent to sell, or if the activity is financed, as part of a sex offender information or treatment course or program conducted or approved by the department of corrections.

 

 45-5-627. Ritual abuse of minor -- exceptions -- penalty.

(1) A person commits the offense of ritual abuse of a minor if the person purposely or knowingly and as part of any ceremony, rite, or ritual or of any training or practice for any ceremony, rite, or ritual:

     (a) has sexual intercourse without consent with a person less than 16 years of age; commits assault, aggravated assault, assault on a minor, or assault with a weapon against a victim less than 16 years of age; or kills a person less than 16 years of age;

     (b) actually or by simulation tortures, mutilates, or sacrifices an animal or person in the presence of the minor;

     (c) dissects, mutilates, or incinerates a human corpse or remains in the presence of the minor;

     (d) forces upon the minor or upon another person in the presence of a minor the ingestion or the external bodily application of human or animal urine, feces, flesh, blood, bone, or bodily secretions or drugs or chemical compounds;

     (e) places a living minor or another living person in the presence of a minor in a coffin or open grave that is empty or that contains a human corpse or remains; or

     (f) threatens the minor or, in the presence of the minor, threatens any person or animal with death or serious bodily harm and the minor reasonably believes that the threat will or may be carried out.

(2) This section does not apply to activities, practices, and procedures otherwise allowed by law.

(3) Except as provided in 46-18-219, a person convicted of ritual abuse of a minor shall:

     (a) for the first offense, be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 20 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, or both; and

     (b) for a second or subsequent offense, be imprisoned in the state prison for any term of not less than 2 years or more than 40 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, or both.

(4) In addition to any sentence imposed under subsection (3), after determining pursuant to 46-18-242 the financial resources and future ability of the offender to pay restitution, the court shall require the offender, if able, to pay the victim's reasonable costs of counseling that result from the offense. The amount, method, and time of payment must be determined in the same manner as provided for in 46-18-244.

 

45-5-203. Intimidation.

(1) A person commits the offense of intimidation when, with the purpose to cause another to perform or to omit the performance of any act, he communicates to another, under circumstances which reasonably tend to produce a fear that it will be carried out, a threat to perform without lawful authority any of the following acts:

     (a) inflict physical harm on the person threatened or any other person;

     (b) subject any person to physical confinement or restraint; or

     (c) commit any felony.

(2) A person commits the offense of intimidation if he knowingly communicates a threat or false report of a pending fire, explosion, or disaster which would endanger life or property.

(3) A person convicted of the offense of intimidation shall be imprisoned in the state prison for any term not to exceed 10 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both.

 

Title 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Part 2. Classification and Limitations

45-1-205. General time limitations.

(1) (a) A prosecution for deliberate, mitigated, or negligent homicide may be commenced at any time.

(b) A prosecution for a felony offense under 45-5-502, 45-5-503, or 45-5-507(4) may be commenced within 10 years after it is committed, except that it may be commenced within 10 years after the victim reaches 18 years of age if the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time that the offense occurred. A prosecution for a misdemeanor offense under those provisions may be commenced within 1 year after the offense is committed, except that it may be commenced within 5 years after the victim reaches 18 years of age if the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time that the offense occurred.

(c) A prosecution under 45-5-504, 45-5-505, 45-5-507(1), (2), (3), or (5), 45-5-625, or 45-5-627 may be commenced within 5 years after the victim reaches

18 years of age if the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time that the offense occurred.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) or as otherwise provided by law, prosecutions for other offenses are subject to the following periods of limitation:

(a) A prosecution for a felony must be commenced within 5 years after it is committed.

(b) A prosecution for a misdemeanor must be commenced within 1 year after it is committed.

(3) The periods prescribed in subsection (2) are extended in a prosecution for theft involving a breach of fiduciary obligation to an aggrieved person as follows:

(a) if the aggrieved person is a minor or incompetent, during the minority or incompetency or within 1 year after the termination of the minority or incompetency;

(b) in any other instance, within 1 year after the discovery of the offense by the aggrieved person or by a person who has legal capacity to represent an aggrieved person or has a legal duty to report the offense and is not personally a party to the offense or, in the absence of discovery, within 1 year after the prosecuting officer becomes aware of the offense.

(4) The period prescribed in subsection (2) must be extended in a prosecution for unlawful use of a computer, and prosecution must be brought within 1 year after the discovery of the offense by the aggrieved person or by a person who has legal capacity to represent an aggrieved person or has a legal duty to report the offense and is not personally a party to the offense or, in the absence of discovery, within 1 year after the prosecuting officer becomes aware of the offense.

(5) The period prescribed in subsection (2) is extended in a prosecution for misdemeanor fish and wildlife violations under Title 87, and prosecution must be brought within 3 years after an offense is committed.

(6) The period prescribed in subsection (2)(b) is extended in a prosecution for misdemeanor violations of the laws regulating the activities of outfitters and guides under

Title 37, chapter 47, and prosecution must be brought within 3 years after an offense is committed.

(7) (a) An offense is committed either when every element occurs or, when the offense is based upon a continuing course of conduct, at the time when the course of conduct is terminated. Time starts to run on the day after the offense is committed.

(b) A prosecution for theft under 45-6-301 may be commenced at any time during the 5 years following the date of the theft, whether or not the offender is in possession of or otherwise exerting unauthorized control over the property at the time the prosecution is commenced. After the 5-year period ends, a prosecution may be commenced at any time if the offender is still in possession of or otherwise exerting unauthorized control over the property, except that the prosecution must be commenced within 1 year after the investigating officer discovers that the offender still possesses or is otherwise exerting unauthorized control over the property.

(8) A prosecution is commenced either when an indictment is found or an information or complaint is filed.

 

 

 

 

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