South Carolina General Assembly
108th Session, 1989-1990

Bill 990

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               990
Ratification Number:       563
Act Number                 470
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Custody order violation provisions
                           revised
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A470, R563, S990)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 16-17-495, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL TRANSPORTING OF A CHILD UNDER SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE OUTSIDE THE STATE WITH INTENT TO VIOLATE A CUSTODY ORDER, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF A PERSON KEEPS A CHILD OUTSIDE THIS STATE FOR MORE THAN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS IN VIOLATION OF A CUSTODY ORDER, THIS IS NOT PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF AN INTENTIONAL VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION BUT THAT IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO INFER THAT THE PERSON INTENDED TO COMMIT THIS VIOLATION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Custody order violation provisions revised

SECTION 1. Section 16-17-495 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 16-17-495. When any court of competent jurisdiction in this State has awarded custody of a child under the age of sixteen years, it is a felony for a person with the intent to violate the court order to take or transport, or cause to be taken or transported, the child from any point within this State to any point outside the limits of this State or to keep the child outside the limits of this State. This crime is punishable by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for not more than three years, or both. It is permissible to infer that a person keeping a child outside the limits of the State in violation of a court order for a period in excess of seventy-two hours intended to violate the order at the time of taking. If the person violating the provisions of this section returns the child to the jurisdiction of the court issuing the order within seven days after removing the child from this State, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished as provided in this section."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 14th day of May, 1990.