Legislators act to fix unconstitutional sex crime law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lawmakers are moving swiftly to rewrite the state law criminalizing sexual misconduct involving a child after the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday declared it unconstitutionally broad.

Within two days of the ruling, the Senate Judiciary Committee added a revision of the sexual misconduct statute to an omnibus crime bill sponsored by state Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Cape Girardeau.

"If they say it needs to be fixed, we are going to accommodate them," Lipke said.

The decision's timing is fortunate, Lipke said, as it gives lawmakers an opportunity for immediate action on the issue instead of having to wait until next year. The legislative session ends May 13.

State Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, said he disagrees with the reasoning behind the court's 4-3 ruling, but that the revised statute will make what constitutes illegal conduct absolutely clear and address the court's objections.

"When you start holding unconstitutional laws designed to protect children from pedophiles, that's a matter of grave importance," said Bartle, the Senate judiciary chairman. "I'm just glad they did it in time for us to correct it."

The court's action came in the case of a former St. Louis elementary school counselor convicted of sexual misconduct for exposing himself to four boys while using a school restroom. James Beine, who according to news reports was the subject of sexual abuse allegations while a Catholic priest in the 1970s, was found guilty on four felony counts and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

As currently written, the law says it is a crime to knowingly expose oneself to a child under age 14 in a manner "likely to cause affront or alarm" to the child. The court's majority said there was no evidence Beine, whose duties included monitoring the boys' restroom, intended to commit a crime.

The majority opinion written by Special Judge Charles Blackmar, a retired chief justice, noted a man must by necessity expose himself while using a public restroom.

"Even if a reasonable person might think that in some of these restroom situations a child is likely to suffer affront or alarm from witnessing such exposure, that alone cannot make the exposure criminal," Blackmar wrote. "If that were the case, no person would ever be able to use a public restroom without risking a criminal charge."

The House of Representatives recently approved the crime bill 128-28. If it clears the full Senate, the House would have to adopt the change in the misconduct statute and work out other differences in the bill before it could be sent to the governor.

The bill is HB 353. The case is State of Missouri v. James A. Beine.

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