Provides mandatory minimum sentences for persons who aid and abet a defendant convicted of certain sex offenses involving juveniles. (8/1/26) (OR SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Senate Bill 86 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes sections 14:81.2 and 14:89.1 to establish mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for persons who aid and abet others in committing certain sex offenses involving juveniles. The bill adds subsection E to section 81.2 concerning molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability, and subsection F to section 89.1 concerning aggravated crime against nature. Each new subsection requires that any person who aids and abets another in committing these offenses shall be subject to one-half of the mandatory minimum sentence otherwise provided by those statutes. The legislation operates as a sentencing modifier that reduces the applicable mandatory minimum penalty to fifty percent of the base punishment for aiders and abettors while preserving the full mandatory minimums for principals.

The bill affects individuals charged as aiders and abettors in sex offense cases involving juveniles under existing Louisiana law. Persons convicted under aiding and abetting liability for molestation of a juvenile will receive sentences at half the mandatory minimums that would otherwise apply based on the victim's age and the offender's supervisory relationship to the victim. Similarly, persons aiding and abetting the specific form of aggravated crime against nature involving certain family relationships with minors under age eighteen will face sentences at half the base mandatory minimums. Judges presiding over such cases will have their sentencing discretion structured by these new statutory minimums, and defendants and prosecutors will need to account for these reduced thresholds in plea negotiations and trial preparation.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's broader statutory framework governing sex offenses against minors and accessory liability under aiding and abetting doctrine. Louisiana law already imposes mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment and fines for principal offenders convicted of molestation of juveniles and aggravated crimes against nature involving minors and family members. The new provisions interact with established aiding and abetting principles in Louisiana criminal law, which hold persons liable as principals when they knowingly aid, counsel, or procure another to commit a crime. By creating explicit mandatory minimums for aiders and abettors at fifty percent of the principal's punishment, the bill provides statutory guidance that supplements judge-made sentencing discretion. The effective date of August 1, 2026 allows time for judicial and prosecutorial systems to implement the new sentencing framework.