Public Act 0476 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3128 Enrolled LRB098 08706 HEP 41829 b

Public Act 098-0476

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 is amended by changing Section 6.5 as follows:

(750 ILCS 45/6.5)

Sec. 6.5. Custody or visitation by sex offender prohibited to men who father through sexual assault or sexual abuse.

(a) This Section applies to a person who has been found to be the father of a child under this Act and who:

(1) has been convicted of or who has pled guilty or nolo contendere to a violation of Section 11-1.20 (criminal sexual assault), Section 11-1.30 (aggravated criminal sexual assault), Section 11-1.40 (predatory criminal sexual assault of a child), Section 11-1.50 (criminal sexual abuse), Section 11-1.60 (aggravated criminal sexual abuse), Section 11-11 (sexual relations within families), Section 12-13 (criminal sexual assault), Section 12-14 (aggravated criminal sexual assault), Section 12-14.1 (predatory criminal sexual assault of a child), Section 12-15 (criminal sexual abuse), or Section 12-16 (aggravated criminal sexual abuse) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or a similar statute in another jurisdiction, for his conduct in fathering that child; or .

(2) at a fact-finding hearing, is found by clear and convincing evidence to have committed an act of non-consensual sexual penetration for his conduct in fathering that child.

(b) A person described in subsection (a) shall not be entitled to custody of or visitation with that child without the consent of the child's mother or guardian. If the person described in subsection (a) is also the guardian of the child, he does not have the authority to consent to visitation or custody under this Section. If the mother of the child is a minor, and the person described in subsection (a) is also the father or guardian of the mother, then he does not have the authority to consent to custody or visits.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, nothing in this Section shall be construed to relieve the father described in subsection (a) of any support and maintenance obligations to the child under this Act. The child's mother or guardian may decline support and maintenance obligations from the father.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the father described in subsection (a) of this Section is not entitled to any inheritance or other rights from the child without the consent of the child's mother or guardian.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the person described in subsection (a) of this Section does not have standing to bring an action requesting custody or visitation with the child without the consent of the child's mother or guardian.

(f) A petition under this Section may be filed by the child's mother or guardian either as an affirmative petition in circuit court or as an affirmative defense in any proceeding filed by the person described in subsection (a) of this Section regarding the child.

(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-568, eff. 8-25-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)