Section 265:13H 1/2 - Indecent assault and battery by law enforcement officer; penalties(a) For the purposes of this section "law enforcement officer" shall mean a police officer, an auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time or reserve police officer, a police officer in the employ of a public institution of higher education pursuant to section 5 of chapter 15A, a public prosecutor, a municipal or public emergency medical technician, a deputy sheriff, a correction officer, a court officer, a probation officer, a parole officer, an officer of the department of youth services, a constable, a campus police officer who holds authority as a special state police officer or a person impersonating one of the foregoing.(b) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained the age of 14 and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment for not more than 21/2 years in a jail or house of correction. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.(c) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on an elder or person with a disability, as defined in section 13K, and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, and a law enforcement officer who commits a second or subsequent such offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 20 years. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.(d) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a person in their custody or control who is known to such law enforcement officer as having an intellectual disability shall for the first offense be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 years or not more than 10 years; and for a second or subsequent offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 10 years. Except in the case of a conviction for the first offense for violation of this subsection, the imposition or execution of the sentence shall not be suspended, and no probation or parole shall be granted until the minimum imprisonment herein provided for the offense shall have been served. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.(e) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years. A prosecution commenced under this subsection shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a child under the age of 14 shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13H 1/2
Added by Acts 2020 , c. 253, § 91, eff. 12/31/2020.