Florida Statutes
Part V - Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators (Ss. 394.910-394.932)
394.912 - Definitions.

(1) “Agency with jurisdiction” means the entity that releases, upon lawful order or authority, a person who is serving a sentence in the custody of the Department of Corrections, a person who was adjudicated delinquent and is committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, a person who was involuntarily committed to the custody of the Department of Children and Families upon an adjudication of not guilty by reason of insanity, or a person who is serving a sentence in a county or municipal jail for a sexually violent offense as defined in paragraph (9)(i).
(2) “Convicted of a sexually violent offense” means a person who has been:
(a) Adjudicated guilty of a sexually violent offense after a trial, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere;
(b) Adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity of a sexually violent offense; or
(c) Adjudicated delinquent of a sexually violent offense after a trial, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere.

(3) “Department” means the Department of Children and Families.
(4) “Likely to engage in acts of sexual violence” means the person’s propensity to commit acts of sexual violence is of such a degree as to pose a menace to the health and safety of others.
(5) “Mental abnormality” means a mental condition affecting a person’s emotional or volitional capacity which predisposes the person to commit sexually violent offenses.
(6) “Person” means an individual 18 years of age or older who is a potential or actual subject of proceedings under this part.
(7) “Secretary” means the secretary of the Department of Children and Families.
(8) “Sexually motivated” means that one of the purposes for which the defendant committed the crime was for sexual gratification.
(9) “Sexually violent offense” means:
(a) Murder of a human being while engaged in sexual battery in violation of s. 782.04(1)(a)2.;
(b) Kidnapping of a child under the age of 13 and, in the course of that offense, committing:
1. Sexual battery; or
2. A lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in the presence of the child;

(c) Committing the offense of false imprisonment upon a child under the age of 13 and, in the course of that offense, committing:
1. Sexual battery; or
2. A lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in the presence of the child;

(d) Sexual battery in violation of s. 794.011;
(e) Lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in presence of the child in violation of s. 800.04 or s. 847.0135(5);
(f) An attempt, criminal solicitation, or conspiracy, in violation of s. 777.04, of a sexually violent offense;
(g) Any conviction for a felony offense in effect at any time before October 1, 1998, which is comparable to a sexually violent offense under paragraphs (a)-(f) or any federal conviction or conviction in another state for a felony offense that in this state would be a sexually violent offense;
(h) Any criminal act that, either at the time of sentencing for the offense or subsequently during civil commitment proceedings under this part, has been determined beyond a reasonable doubt to have been sexually motivated; or
(i) A criminal offense in which the state attorney refers a person to the department for civil commitment proceedings pursuant to s. 394.9125.

(10) “Sexually violent predator” means any person who:
(a) Has been convicted of a sexually violent offense; and
(b) Suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility for long-term control, care, and treatment.

(11) “Total confinement” means that the person is currently being held in any physically secure facility being operated or contractually operated for the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Children and Families. A person shall also be deemed to be in total confinement for applicability of provisions under this part if:
(a) The person is serving an incarcerative sentence under the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice and is being held in any other secure facility for any reason;
(b) The person is serving a sentence in a county or municipal jail for a sexually violent offense as defined in paragraph (9)(i); or
(c) A court or the agency with jurisdiction determines that the person who is being held should have been lawfully released at an earlier date and that the provisions of this part would have been applicable to the person on the date that he or she should have been lawfully released.

History.—s. 4, ch. 98-64; s. 5, ch. 99-222; s. 3, ch. 2000-246; s. 11, ch. 2008-172; s. 1, ch. 2014-2; s. 101, ch. 2014-19; s. 29, ch. 2016-24.
Note.—Former s. 916.32.