Defendants receive a notice of forfeiture will ask me, “Can they take my house and car away from me for a sexual offense?” Unfortunately, the answer is yes – in addition to criminal penalties, the State of Tennessee can seize the defendant’s real or personal property through civil forfeiture if it believes that either was used in the commission of a sexual offense. This means that the defendant could not only be convicted, which results in him or her becoming a convicted felon and convicted sexual offender (or violent sexual offender), but also, that person’s family may lose the home, its contents, and their vehicle.
39-13-530. Forfeiture of any conveyance or real or personal property used in a sexual offense committed against minors — Child abuse fund.
- (a)
- (1) Any conveyance or real or personal property used in the commission of an offense under this part, is subject to judicial forfeiture under chapter 11, part 7 of this title; provided, however, that the offense is committed against a person under eighteen (18) years of age and was committed on or after July 1, 2006.
- (2) Any conveyance or personal property used in the commission of a violation of § 40-39-211 committed on or after July 1, 2012, by a sexual offender or violent sex offender, as defined in § 40-39-202, whose victim was a minor, is, upon conviction, subject to judicial forfeiture as provided in chapter 11, part 7 of this title.
- (b) The proceeds from all forfeitures made pursuant to this section shall be transmitted to the general fund, where there is established a general fund reserve to be allocated through the general appropriations act, which shall be known as the child abuse fund. Moneys from the fund shall be expended to fund activities authorized by this section. Any revenues deposited in this reserve shall remain in the reserve until expended for purposes consistent with this section, and shall not revert to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year. Any excess revenues or interest earned by the revenues shall not revert at the end of the fiscal year, but shall remain available for appropriation in subsequent fiscal years. Any appropriation from the reserve shall not revert to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year, but shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.
- (c) The general assembly shall appropriate, through the general appropriations act, fifty percent (50%) of the moneys from the child abuse fund to the department of finance and administration for the child advocacy center fund to be used for child advocacy centers. The appropriations shall be specifically earmarked for the purposes set out in subsection (d).
- (d) All moneys appropriated from the child advocacy center fund shall be used exclusively by the department to provide grants to child advocacy centers that are incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, are tax-exempt under § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and that have provided child advocacy services for at least six (6) months prior to the application for funds under this subsection (d). The commissioner of finance and administration shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, for the distribution and use of the grant funds provided by it. The grants shall be for the purpose of providing funding for the continuation of existing programs and services, the creation of new programs and services and the training of personnel in child advocacy centers.
- (e) The general assembly shall appropriate, through the general appropriations act, twenty-five percent (25%) of the moneys from the child abuse fund to the department of finance and administration for the court appointed special advocate (CASA) fund. The appropriations shall be specifically earmarked for the purposes set out in subsection (f).
- (f) All moneys appropriated from the CASA fund shall be used exclusively by the department to provide grants to CASA programs that are incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, are tax-exempt under § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code and that have provided CASA services for at least six (6) months prior to the application for funds under this subsection (f). The commissioner of finance and administration shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, for the distribution and use of the grant funds provided by it. The grants shall be for the purpose of providing funding for the continuation of existing programs and services, the creation of new programs and services and the training of personnel and volunteers in CASA programs.
- (g) The general assembly shall appropriate, through the general appropriations act, twenty-five percent (25%) of the moneys from the child abuse fund to the department of finance and administration for the child abuse prevention fund. The appropriations shall be specifically earmarked for the purposes set out in subsection (h).
- (h) All moneys appropriated from the child abuse prevention fund shall be used exclusively by the department to provide a grant to Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee; provided, that it is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, is tax-exempt under § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, codified at 26 U.S.C. § 501, and that it has provided child abuse prevention services for at least six (6) months prior to the application for funds under this subsection (h). The commissioner of finance and administration shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act for the distribution and use of the grant funds provided by it. The grants shall be for the purpose of providing funding for the continuation of existing programs and services, the creation of new programs and services and the training of personnel to plan and carry out a comprehensive statewide child abuse prevention program that includes emphasis on primary and secondary prevention strategies and includes evaluation strategies to assess the effectiveness of prevention activities.
- (i) All recipients of funding from the child abuse fund and its subsidiary funds, the child advocacy centers fund, the CASA fund and the child abuse prevention fund, shall collaborate with each other and also with the department of children’s services, the department of children’s services’ child abuse prevention advisory committee, the child sexual abuse task force established by § 37-1-603(b)(1), the commission on children and youth, the governor’s office of children’s care coordination, and other appropriate state and local service providers in the planning and implementation of multi-disciplinary, multi-agency approaches to address child abuse, including primary, secondary and tertiary child abuse prevention, investigation and intervention in child abuse cases, and needed treatment and timely permanency for victims of child abuse.
- (j) All recipients of funding from the child abuse fund and its subsidiary funds, the child advocacy centers fund, the CASA fund and the child abuse prevention fund, shall report annually to the health and welfare committee of the senate and the civil justice committee of the house of representatives, the judiciary committee of the senate, and the fiscal review committee, regarding their use of child abuse fund moneys, their collaborative efforts to address the spectrum of child abuse issues, and their recommendations for additional improvements in the child abuse prevention and response system in Tennessee.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-530