RICHMOND, Va. -- A bill to charge law enforcement officers with a Class 6 felony if they engage in sexual relations with a detainee has unanimously passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.
Del. Karrie Delaney said she proposed the bill to close a loophole.
Virginia law currently states that employees of correctional facilities or jails cannot have sexual relations with someone in their custody.
But Delaney said current law does not make it illegal for police officers to have sexual relations with someone who has been detained but not yet arrested.
Gov. Ralph Northam would need to sign the bill for it to become law.