SB 868, sponsored by Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando), passed this week, favorably by unanimous vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill moves to its next committee of reference, Criminal Justice, and will receive a hearing the third week of session.
The bill clarifies and creates consistency in statutes on what constitutes sexual battery upon a person impaired by drugs or alcohol. By this legislation, an offender commits the aggravated crime if the offender knows, or has reason to believe, the victim is mentally incapacitated due to the ingestion of drugs and or alcohol.
“Whether it be self-induced or not, we need full accountability for individuals who take advantage of another’s mental incapacitation,” said Stewart.
