Increased penalties for crimes against elder persons; restraining orders for elder persons; freezing assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an elder person; sexual assault of an elder person; physical abuse of an elder person; and providing a penalty

physical abuse of an elder person This bill creates the crime of physical abuse of an elder person that is modeled after the current law prohibition of physical abuse of a child. Under the bill, an elder person is anyone who is 60 years of age or older, and a person may be prosecuted irrespective of whether he or she knew the age of the crime victim. Under the bill, the penalties range from a Class C felony for intentionally causing great bodily harm to a Class I felony for recklessly causing bodily harm.

freezing of assets This bill creates a procedure for a court to freeze or seize assets from a defendant who has been charged with a financial exploitation crime when the victim is an elder person.

Under the bill, if a person is charged with a financial exploitation crime, the crime involves property valued at more than $2,500, and the crime victim is at least 60 years old, a prosecuting attorney may file a petition with the court to freeze the funds, assets, or property of the person in an amount up to 100 percent of the alleged value of property involved in the person's pending criminal proceeding for purposes of preserving the property for future payment of restitution to the crime victim.

increased penalties This bill creates a scheme that allows a term of imprisonment that is imposed for a criminal conviction to be increased in length if the crime victim was an elder person. Under the bill, a maximum term of imprisonment of one year or less may be increased to not more than two years; a maximum term of imprisonment of more than one year but not more than ten years may be increased by not more than four years; and a maximum term of imprisonment of more than ten years may be increased by not more than six years. Under the bill, the term of imprisonment may be lengthened irrespective of whether the defendant knew the age of the crime victim.

restraining orders for an elder person This bill allows an elder person who is seeking a domestic violence, individual-at-risk, or harassment restraining order to appear in a court hearing by telephone or live audiovisual means. Under the bill, an elder person is anyone who is 60 years old or older.

Under current law, a person seeking a domestic violence, individual-at-risk, or harassment restraining order must appear in person in the courtroom at a hearing to obtain a restraining order.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.