Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §402, sub-§1, ķA, as amended by PL 2001, c. 383, §56 and affected by §156, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

A.__Enters any dwelling place.

(1)__A person who violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class C crime, punishable by a minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years, none of which may be suspended.

(2)__A person convicted of a violation of this paragraph who has one previous conviction under this paragraph within a 10-year period is guilty of a Class C crime, punishable by a term of imprisonment of 5 years, none of which may be suspended.

(3)__A person convicted of a violation of this paragraph who has 2 or more previous convictions under this paragraph within a 10-year period is guilty of a Class B crime, punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 years, none of which may be suspended.

SUMMARY

Current law prohibits a person from entering a dwelling place if that person is not licensed or privileged to enter that dwelling place. Violation is a Class D crime.

This bill increases the class of crime for a first-time offense to Class C and requires a minimum, nonsuspendable sentence of incarceration of 3 years. A 2nd offense is punishable by 5 years' imprisonment, which may not be suspended and a 3rd or subsequent violation is a Class B crime, punishable by 10 years' imprisonment, which may not be suspended.