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2025 bills / S.B. 24

S.B. 24 Child Abuse and Torture Amendments (2025)

Became lawWritten by Sen. Don L. Ipson · carried in the House by Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox

  1. Introduced
  2. Senate committee
  3. Senate vote
  4. House committee
  5. House vote
  6. Signed into law

What this bill does

The bill creates a new crime of child torture with its own penalties, and makes it a crime that requires mandatory prison time. It also adds child torture to the many laws that already cover child abuse, such as background checks, the sex and child abuse offender registry, and the definition of violent felony.

Plain-English summary written by AI from the official description. Check the official text below.

Official description
  • creates a new criminal offense for child torture and provides penalties
  • adds the offense of child torture to the list of offenses for which imprisonment is mandatory
  • amends existing definitions relating to the offenses of child abuse and aggravated criminal child abuse
  • modifies child abandonment, abuse or neglect of a child with a disability, and other statutes that rely on certain definitions concerning criminal child abuse
  • includes the offense of child torture in statutes that reference child abuse or aggravated child abuse, including statutes concerning background checks, murder and aggravated murder, child abuse homicide, bigamy, jail release agreements and orders, and adoption, parent-time, and custody statutes
  • adds the offense of child torture to the definition of "violent felony"
  • includes the offense of child torture as a registrable offense on the Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry
  • modifies the definition of "severe type of child abuse or neglect" in the juvenile code to refer to the amended definition of serious injury in the criminal child abuse statute
  • adds coordination clauses:
  • to merge the changes to Section 76-3-406 if both this bill and H.B. 78, Criminal Offenses Amendments, both pass and become law
  • to merge the changes to Section 77-41-102 in this bill if this bill, S.B. 41, Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry Amendments, both pass and become law, and H.B. 21, Criminal Code Recodification and Cross References, does not pass and become law, due to Section 77-41-102 being repealed and replaced with newly enacted statutes in S.B. 41
  • to merge the changes to Section 77-41-102 in this bill if this bill, S.B. 41, Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry Amendments, and H.B. 21, Criminal Code Recodification and Cross References, all pass and become law, due to Section 77-41-102 being repealed and replaced with newly enacted statutes in S.B. 41
  • makes technical and conforming changes
Full text and history on le.utah.gov →

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