Tennessee House Bill HB2377

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Refer: 2/5/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Refer: 4/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5, relative to sexual offenses.

Summary

HB2377 amends Tennessee’s criminal code provisions on continuous sexual abuse of a child. The bill revises the definition of the offense to cover a person who, over a period of 30 days or more, commits multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child. It also updates the underlying conduct element to require three or more incidents of sexual abuse of one or more minor children on separate occasions, with at least one incident occurring in the county where the charge is filed and at least one incident occurring on or after July 1, 2026. The bill also changes the jury unanimity language to require the jury to unanimously agree that, during a period of 30 days or more, the defendant committed multiple acts of sexual abuse of a child as defined in the statute. The act takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies only to acts committed on or after that date.

Impact

HB2377 would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5, by narrowing and clarifying the elements and venue requirements for the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child. It affects prosecutors, defendants, and courts handling sexual offense cases by specifying the number of incidents, the time period, the county nexus for filing charges, and the effective-date limitation for conduct covered by the statute.

Sentiment

The available committee votes show strong support for the bill, with unanimous or near-unanimous approval in both the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and the House Judiciary Committee. No committee transcript objections are provided, and the recorded votes suggest the measure was viewed favorably as a criminal justice and child protection bill.

Contention

No direct committee debate is available, so specific objections are not documented in the provided materials. Based on the text, any potential points of contention would likely center on the bill’s venue requirement, the requirement that one incident occur on or after July 1, 2026, and the precise definition of continuous sexual abuse, but the recorded votes indicate no visible opposition in committee.