Parents and doctors in Arizona, are shocked over a ruling, which makes innocent contact with a baby a crime.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued this terrifying decision after a man attempted to have his sexual assault conviction overturned.
The man who was convicted of sexually touching his stepdaughter, claimed that there was no sexual intent.
However, the court upheld his conviction as the justices examined the language in Arizona’s sexual abuse laws, which does not require sexual intent in order to be charged.
The law clearly criminalizes any contact between an adult and a child’s genitals regardless of intent.
The legislation forbids any person from “intentionally or knowingly touching any part of the genitals, backside or female breast” of a child under fifteen years of age.
Although it is not likely for prosecutors to arrest people for touching without sexual intent, this new law allows parents to be arrested and charged with sexual assault when changing a baby’s diaper or bathing the child.
Doctors can also be charged under the law after examining a baby’s private parts. Those convicted under the statute may be imprisoned for five years.
