Title
AN ACT AMENDING TITLE 21 (“CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS”) OF THE CHEROKEE NATION CODE ANNOTATED
Body
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION:
Section 1. Title and Codification
This act shall be known as the “Cherokee Nation Criminal Code Modernization Act of 2025” and codified at Title 21, Chapter 45 of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated.
Section 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to raise the age of consent for sexual conduct to eighteen years of age for the purposes of defining the offense of rape; further prevent the exploitation of minors; and provide clearer enforcement mechanisms for the prosecution of sexual offenses involving minors.
Section 3. Legislative History
LA-10-90
LA-13-91
LA-24-02
LA-25-02
LA-39-02
LA-40-02
LA-41-02
LA-42-02
LA-31-03
LA-32-03
LA-36-03
LA-08-06
LA-10-06
LA-18-06
LA-29-06
LA-31-06
LA-34-06
LA-09-07
LA-20-08
LA-22-08
LA-08-12
LA-09-12
LA-35-12
LA-10-13
LA-09-16
LA-12-18
LA-28-20
LA-03-21
LA-07-21
LA-18-21
LA-19-21
LA-29-21
LA-36-21
LA-39-21
LA-02-22
LA-33-22
Section 4. Substantive Provisions
Title 21, Chapter 45 “Rape, Abduction, Carnal Abuse of Children and Seduction” shall be amended as follows:
§ 1111. Rape defined.
A. Rape is an act of sexual intercourse involving vaginal or anal penetration accomplished under any of the following circumstances:
1. Where the victim is under sixteen 16eighteen (18) years of age;
2. Where the victim is incapable through mental illness or any other unsoundness of mind, whether temporary or permanent, or giving legal consent;
3. Where force or violence is used or threatened, accompanied by apparent power of execution to the victim or to another person;
4. Where the victim is intoxicated by a narcotic or anesthetic agent, administered by or with the privity of the accused as a means of forcing the victim to submit;
5. Where the victim is unconscious of the nature of the act and this fact is known to the accused; or
6. Where the victim submits to sexual intercourse under the belief that the person committing the act is a spouse, and this belief is induced by artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused or by the accused in collusion with the spouse with intent to induce that belief. In all cases of collusion between the accused and the spouse to accomplish such act, both the spouse and the accused, upon conviction, shall be deemed guilty of rape.
7. Where the victim is under the legal custody or supervision of the Cherokee Nation, other tribal, state, municipal, other governmental subdivision, or federal agency and engages in sexual intercourse with an employee or an employee of a contractor of the Cherokee Nation, other tribal, state, municipal, other governmental subdivision, or federal employee that exercises authority over the victim;
8. Where the victim is at least sixteen (16) years of age and is less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student, or under the legal custody or supervision of any public or private elementary or secondary school, junior high or high school, or public vocational school, and engages in sexual intercourse with a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is an employee, contractor, or subcontractor of the same school system;
9. Where the victim is nineteen (19) years of age or younger and is in the legal custody of a state agency, federal agency, or tribal court and engages in sexual intercourse with a foster parent or foster parent applicant; or
10. Where the victim is a student at a secondary school, is concurrently enrolled at an institution of higher education, and engages in acts pursuant to this subsection with a perpetrator who is an employee of the institution of higher education of which the victim is enrolled. “Employee of an institution of higher education”, for purposes of this section, means faculty, adjunct faculty, instructors, volunteers, or an employee of a business contracting with an institution of higher education who may exercise, at any time, institutional authority over the victim. Employee of an institution of higher education shall not include an enrolled student who is not more than three (3) years of age or older than the concurrently enrolled student and who is employed or volunteering, in any capacity, for the institution of higher education.
11. Where the victim is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the perpetrator of the crime is a person responsible for the child's health, safety or welfare. “Person responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare” shall include, but not be limited to:
a. a parent,
b. a legal guardian,
c. custodian,
d. a foster parent,
e. a person eighteen (18) years of age or older with whom the child's parent cohabitates,
f. any other adult residing in the home of the child,
g. an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, institution, facility or day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or
h. an owner, operator or employee of a child care facility.
B. Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished if force or violence is used or threatened, accompanied by apparent power of execution to the victim or to another person. Any person in violation of the section shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to 57 CNCA § 1 et. seq. The jury, if any, shall be advised that the mandatory sex offender registration shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment.
§ 1111.1. Rape by instrumentation
A. Rape by instrumentation is an act within or without the bonds of matrimony in which any inanimate object or any part of the human body, not amounting to sexual intercourse is used in the carnal knowledge of another person without his or her consent and penetration of the anus or vagina occurs to that person.
B. Provided, further, that at least one of the circumstances specified in Section 1111 <http://www.westlaw.com/Link/Document/FullText?findType=L&pubNum=1000165&cite=OKSTT21S1111&originatingDoc=N8DC23F20C76A11DB8F04FB3E68C8F4C5&refType=LQ&originationContext=document&vr=3.0&rs=cblt1.0&transitionType=DocumentItem&contextData=(sc.Default)> of this title has been met; further, where the victim is:
1. at least sixteen (16) years of age and is less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student, or under the legal custody or supervision of any public or private elementary or secondary school, junior high or high school, or public vocational school, and engages in conduct prohibited by this section of law with a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is an employee of the same school system, or where the victim is under the legal custody or supervision of a state or federal agency, county, municipal or a political subdivision and engages in conduct prohibited by this section of law with a federal, state, county, municipal or political subdivision employee or an employee of a contractor of the state, the federal government, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision that exercises authority over the victim, consent shall not be an element of the crime. ;
2. Under the legal custody or supervision of the Cherokee Nation, or a state or federal agency, county, municipal or a political subdivision and engages in conduct prohibited by this section with a tribal, federal, state, county, municipal or political subdivision employee or an employee of a contractor of the Nation, the state, the federal government, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision that exercises authority over the victim, consent shall not be an element of the crime;
3. Nineteen (19) years of age or younger and in the legal custody of a state agency, federal agency or tribal court and engages in conduct prohibited by this section of law with a foster parent or foster parent applicant; or
4. A student at a secondary school, is concurrently enrolled at an institution of higher education, and engages in acts pursuant to this section with a perpetrator who is an employee of the institution of higher education of which the student is enrolled.
"Employee of an institution of higher education", for purposes of this section, means faculty, adjunct faculty, instructors, volunteers, or an employee of a business contracting with an institution of higher education who may exercise, at any time, institutional authority over the victim. Employee of an institution of higher education shall not include an enrolled student who is not more than three (3) years of age or older than the concurrently enrolled student and who is employed or volunteering, in any capacity, for the institution of higher education.
C. Provided, further, that at least one of the circumstances specified in Section 1111 <http://www.westlaw.com/Link/Document/FullText?findType=L&pubNum=1000165&cite=OKSTT21S1111&originatingDoc=N8DC23F20C76A11DB8F04FB3E68C8F4C5&refType=LQ&originationContext=document&vr=3.0&rs=cblt1.0&transitionType=DocumentItem&contextData=(sc.Default)> of this title has been met; further, where the victim is nineteen (19) years of age or younger and in the legal custody of a state agency, federal agency or tribal court and engages in conduct prohibited by this section of law with a foster parent or foster parent applicant.
D. Any person in violation of the section shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to 57 CNCA § 1 et. seq. The jury, if any, shall be advised that the mandatory sex offender registration is a civil remedy that shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment.
§ 1112. Age limitations on conviction for rape
No person can be convicted of rape or rape by instrumentation on account of an act of sexual intercourse with anyone over the age of fourteen (14) years, with his or her consent, unless such person was over the age of eighteen (18) yearsmore than four (4) years older than the other person at the time of such act.
§ 1113. Slight penetration is sufficient to complete crime
The essential guilt of rape or rape by instrumentation, except with the consent of a male or female over fourteen eighteen (1418) years of age, consists in the outrage to the person and feelings of the victim. Any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime.
§ 1114. Rape in first degree--Second degree
A. Rape or rape by instrumentation in the first degree shall include:
1. Rape committed by a person over eighteen (18) years of age upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age;
2. Rape committed upon a person incapable through mental illness or any unsoundness of mind of giving legal consent regardless of the age of the person committing the crime;
3. Rape accomplished where the victim is intoxicated by a narcotic or anesthetic agent, administered by or with the privity of the accused as a means of forcing the victim to submit;
4. Rape accomplished where the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this fact is known to the accused;
5. Rape accomplished with any person by means of force, violence, or threats of force or violence accompanied by apparent power of execution regardless of the age of the person committing the crime; or
6. Rape by instrumentation regardless of the age of the victim or the age of the person committing the crime.
B. In all other cases, rape is rape in the second degree.
§ 1115 Punishment for rape in first degree or second degree
Rape in the first degree is a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment, provided that any sentence shall include a term of imprisonment. Any person in violation of the chapter shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to 57 CNCA § 1 et. seq. The jury, if any, shall be advised that the mandatory sex offender registration is a civil remedy that shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment. Any person convicted of a subsequent violation of rape in the first degree shall be guilty of a felony punishable as provided in this subsection and shall not be eligible for probation, suspended or deferred sentence.
§ 1116. Punishment for rape in second degree
Rape in the second degree is a crimefelony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment. Any person convicted of a subsequent violation of rape in the second degree shall be guilty of a felony punishable as provided in this subsection and shall not be eligible for probation, suspended or deferred sentence.
§ 1117. Compelling person to marry
Any person who takes any person against his or her will, and by force, menace or duress, compels him or her to marry him or her or to marry any other person, is guilty of a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment.
§ 1118. Intent to compel woman to marry
Any person who takes any woman unlawfully against her will, with the intent to compel her by force, menace or duress to marry him, or to marry any other person, is guilty of a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment.
§ 1119. Abduction of person under fifteensixteen
Every person who takes away or induces to leave any person under the age of fifteen sixteen (1516) years, from a parent, guardian or other person having the legal charge of the person, without the consent of said parent, guardian, or other person having legal charge, for the purpose of marriage or concubinage, or any crime involving moral turpitude shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment.
§ 1123. Lewd or indecent proposals or acts as to child under eighteen
A. It is a felony for any person to knowingly and intentionally:
1. make any oral, written, or electronically or computer-generated lewd or indecent proposal to any child under sixteen (16) years of age, or other individual the person believes to be a child under sixteen (16) years of age, for the child to have unlawful sexual relations or sexual intercourse with any person; or
2. look upon, touch, maul, or feel the body or private parts of any child under sixteen (16) years of age in any lewd or lascivious manner by any acts against public decency and morality, as defined by law; or
3. ask, invite, entice, or persuade any child under sixteen (16) years of age, or other individual the person believes to be a child under sixteen (16) years of age, to go alone with any person to a secluded, remote, or secret place, with the unlawful and willful intent and purpose then and there to commit any crime against public decency and morality, as defined by law, with the child; or
4. in any manner lewdly or lasciviously look upon, touch, maul, or feel the body or private parts of any child under sixteen (16) years of age in any indecent manner or in any manner relating to sexual matters or sexual interest; or
5. in a lewd or lascivious manner and for the purposes of sexual gratification:
a. urinate or defecate upon a child under sixteen (16) years of age, or force or require a child to defecate or urinate upon the body or private parts of another, or for the purpose of sexual gratification;
b. ejaculate upon or in the presence of a child;
c. cause, expose, force or require a child to look upon the body or private parts of another person;
d. force or require any child under sixteen (16) years of age or other individual the person believes to be a child under sixteen (16) years of age to view any obscene materials, child pornography or materials deemed harmful to minors as such terms are defined by 21 CNCA § 1024.1 and 21 CNCA § 1040.75;
e. cause, expose, force or require a child to look upon sexual acts performed in the presence of the child; or
f. force or require a child to touch or feel the body or private parts of said child or another person.
Any person convicted of any violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment. Any person convicted of a subsequent violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony punishable as provided in this subsection and shall not be eligible for probation, suspended or deferred sentence.
B. No person shall commit sexual battery on any other person. “Sexual battery” shall mean the intentional touching, mauling or feeling of the body or private parts of any person sixteen (16) years of age or older, in a lewd and lascivious manner: Without the consent of that person;
1.Without the consent of that person;
1. When committed by a Cherokee Nation, state, county, municipal or political subdivision employee or a contractor or an employee of a contractor of the Cherokee Nation, state, a county, a municipality, or political subdivision upon a person who is under the legal custody, supervision or authority of a Cherokee Nation or state agency, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision of this state, or the subcontractor or employee of a subcontractor of the contractor of the state or federal government, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision of this state;
2. When committed upon a person who is at least sixteen (16) years of age and is less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student, or in the legal custody or supervision of any public or private elementary or secondary school, or technology center school, by a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is an employee of a the same school system that the victim attends; or
3. When committed upon a person who is nineteen (19) years of age or younger and is in the legal custody of a the Cherokee Nation agency, a federal agency, a state agency, or a tribal court, by a foster parent or foster parent applicant.: or
4. When the victim is a student at a secondary school, is concurrently enrolled at an institution of higher education, and engages in acts pursuant to this subsection with a perpetrator who is an employee of the institution of higher education of which the student is enrolled.
As used in this subsection, "employee of an institution of higher education" means faculty, adjunct faculty, instructors, volunteers, or an employee of a business contracting with an institution of higher education who may exercise, at any time, institutional authority over the victim. Employee of an institution of higher education shall not include an enrolled student who is not more than three (3) years of age or older than the concurrently enrolled student and who is employed or volunteering, in any capacity, for the institution of higher education.
As used in this subsection, “employee of the samea school system” means a teacher, principal or other duly appointed person employed by a school system or an employee of a firm contracting with a school system who exercises authority over the victim.
C. No person shall in any manner lewdly or lasciviously:
1. Look upon, touch, maul, or feel the body or private parts of any human corpse in any indecent manner relating to sexual matters or sexual interest; or
2. Urinate, defecate or ejaculate upon any human corpse.
D. Any person convicted of a violation of subsection B or C of this section shall be deemed guilty of a felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonment..
E. The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer was involved in the detection and investigation of an offense pursuant to this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.
F. Any person in violation of the section shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to 57 CNCA § 1 et. seq. The jury, if any, shall be advised that the mandatory sex offender registration is a civil remedy that shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment.
G. Any parent or person responsible for the child's health, safety or welfare who violates subsection A, B or C of this section when the victim is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a felony. For purposes of this section, “person responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare” shall include, but not be limited to:
a. a parent,
b. a legal guardian,
c. custodian,
d. a foster parent,
e. a person eighteen (18) years of age or older with whom the child's parent cohabitates,
f. any other adult residing in the home of the child,
g. an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, institution, facility or day treatment program, or
h. an owner, operator or employee of a child care facility.
H. The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer was involved in the detection and investigation of an offense pursuant to this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.
§ 1123.1. Sexual battery
A. No person shall commit sexual battery on any other person. "Sexual battery" shall mean the intentional touching, mauling or feeling of the body or private parts, in a lewd and lascivious manner, of:
1. a victim under the age of 14 years of age; or
2. a victim age 14 or older but who has not yet attained the age of 16, except when:
a. the victim otherwise consents, and
b. the accused is not required to register as a sex offender, and
c. the accused is less than 19 years of age or the accused is married to the victim; or
3. any person without the victim's consent when the victim is over age sixteen (16) years, or
4. any person who is a student, or under the legal custody, supervision, or authority of any public or private elementary or secondary school, junior high or high school, or public vocational school, or any Cherokee Nation agency and the accused is a person who is an employee or official of the same school system or Cherokee Nation agency or otherwise exercises power as an official over the school system or Cherokee Nation agency regardless of the ages of the victim and the accused.
B. Any person convicted of violating this section is guilty of a crime felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years or by imposition of a fine in an amount not the exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), or by both such fine an imprisonmentpursuant to 21 CNCA § 10, provided that such sentence must include a term of imprisonment . Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to 57 CNCA § 1 et seq. The jury, if any, shall be advised that the mandatory sex offender registration is a civil remedy that shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this section shall not be eligible for any form of probation, suspended or deferred sentence.
C. The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer was involved in the detection and investigation of an offense pursuant to this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.
§ 1124. Using computer networks to violate Cherokee Nation statutes
No person shall communicate with, store data in, or retrieve data from a computer system or computer network for the purpose of using such access to violate any of the provisions of Cherokee Nation statutes. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a term not to exceed one (1) year or by imposition of a fine in an amount no the exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
§ 1125. Zone of safety - Schools, child care centers, playgrounds, parks, and residences of victims - Restrictions on convicted sext offenders - Exemptions
A. A zone of safety is hereby created around elementary, junior high, and high schools, licensed child care centers, playgrounds, parks, or the residence of a victim of a sex crime.
1. A person is prohibited from loitering within five hundred (500) feet of any elementary, junior high, or high school, licensed child care center, playground, or park if the person has been convicted of a crime that requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration and Notification Act, 57 CNCA § 1 et seq., or the person has been convicted of an offense in another jurisdiction, which offense if committed or attempted in the Cherokee Nation, would have been punishable as one or more of the offenses listed in 57 CNCA § 4 and the victim was a child under the age of sixteen (16) years.
2. A person is prohibited from entering any park if:
a. the person has been designated as a habitual or aggravated sex offender as provided in 57 CNCA § 1 et seq., or
b. the person has been convicted of an offense in another jurisdiction, which offense, if committed or attempted in this state, would designate the person as a habitual or aggravated sex offender as provided in 57 CNCA § 1 et seq.
3. A person is prohibited from loitering within one thousand (1,000) feet of the residence of his or her victim if:
a. the person who committed a sex crime against the victim has been convicted of said crime, and
b. the person is required to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Actand Notification Act, 57 CNCA § 1 et seq. and/or any similar federal, state, or tribal law.
B. A person convicted of a violation of subsection (A) of this section shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine not exceeding Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00), or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed three (3) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subsection A of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed three (3) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. This proscription of conduct shall not modify or remove any restrictions currently applicable to the person by court order, conditions of probation or as provided by other provision of law.
C. 1. A person shall be exempt from the prohibition of this section regarding a school or a licensed or permitted child care facility only under the following circumstances and limited to a reasonable amount of time to complete such tasks:
a. the person is the custodial parent or legal guardian of a child who is an enrolled student at the school or child care facility; and
b. the person is enrolling, delivering or retrieving such child at the school or licensed or permitted child care center during regular school or facility hours or for school-sanctioned or licensed-or-permitted-child-care-center-sanctioned extracurricular activities.
Prior to entering the zone of safety for the purposes listed in this paragraph, the person shall inform school or child care center administrators of his or her status as a registered sex offender. The person shall update monthly, or as often as required by the school or center, information about the specific times the person will be within the zone of safety as established by this section.
2. This exception shall not be construed to modify or remove any restrictions applicable to the person by court order, conditions of probation, or as provided by other provision of law.
D. The provisions of subsection (A) of this section shall not apply to any person receiving medical treatment at a hospital or other facility certified or licensed by any government to provide medical services. As used in this subsection, “medical treatment” shall not include any form of psychological, social or rehabilitative counseling services or treatment programs for sex offenders.
E. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person, who is registered as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, from attending a recognized church or religious denomination for worship; provided, the person has notified the religious leader of his or her status as a registered sex offender and the person has been granted written permission by the religious leader.
F. As used in this section, “park” means any outdoor public area specifically designated as being used for recreational purposes that is operated or supported in whole or in part by a homeowners’ association or a city, town, county, state, federal or tribal governmental authority.
Section 5. Provisions as cumulative
The provisions of this act shall be cumulative to existing law.
Section 6. Severability
The provisions of this act are severable and if any part of provision hereof shall be held void the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act.
Section 7. Effective Date
It being immediately necessary for the welfare of the Cherokee Nation, the Council hereby declares that an emergency exists, by reason whereof this Act shall take effect and be in full force immediately upon its passage and approval.
Section 8. Self-Help Contributions
To the extent that this Act involves programs or services to citizens of the Nation or others, self-help contributions shall be required, unless specifically prohibited by the funding agency, or a waiver is granted due to physical or mental incapacity of the participant to contribute.