“Para enmendar la Ley 57-2023 añadiendo un nuevo Artículo 51(a) para establecer responsabilidad penal de delito grave con una pena fija de reclusión de dos (2) años, en aquellos casos donde exista conocimiento o sospecha de agresión sexual contra un menor y se incumpla con el deber de suministrar información, o se deje de realizar algún otro acto requerido por esta ley, o que a sabiendas impida que otra persona actuando en forma razonable lo haga, o que a sabiendas suministre información falsa o aconseje a otra persona para que lo haga, y para que aquella persona que suministre información sobre la sospecha de agresión sexual a un menor que se determine es infundada y cuya consecuencia natural o probable se estime ha sido interferir con el ejercicio legítimo de la custodia, relaciones paternofiliales y de la patria potestad, será referida por el Departamento de la Familia al Departamento de Justicia para su evaluación y el procesamiento ulterior que corresponda, y para otros fines relacionados.”

2025-2028 Session

Puerto Rico bill criminalizes failure to report child sexual abuse with mandatory 2-year sentences while also penalizing false abuse reports that interfere with custody rights.

Enviado a la Gobernadora

Legislative bill overview

Bill PS 851 amends Law 57-2023 to establish a mandatory two-year felony prison sentence for individuals who knowingly fail to report suspected child sexual abuse, provide false information about such abuse, or obstruct others from reporting it. The bill also creates a mechanism to prosecute individuals who file false abuse reports that interfere with legitimate custody and parental rights.

Why is this important

Child protection laws depend on mandatory reporting to function effectively; this bill aims to strengthen enforcement by creating criminal penalties for non-compliance. However, it simultaneously introduces penalties for false reporting, raising questions about how Puerto Rico will balance aggressive prosecution of reporting failures against protecting individuals wrongly accused and potential deterrence effects on legitimate reports.

Potential points of contention

Mandatory minimum sentences: Fixed two-year sentences remove judicial discretion and may apply disproportionately to individuals in different professional contexts (teachers, counselors, family members) with varying degrees of culpability

False reporting provisions: Creating criminal liability for "infundada" (unfounded) reports could discourage people from reporting suspected abuse out of fear of prosecution if the claim cannot be proven, potentially silencing legitimate concerns

Due process concerns: The bill's language on "knowledge or suspicion" and "knowingly impede" may be ambiguous regarding what level of certainty triggers criminal liability, potentially criminalizing good-faith disagreements about whether abuse occurred

Custody weaponization: The provision allowing false accusers to be prosecuted for interfering with custody rights could be misused in family disputes, though intent is likely to prevent malicious false reports