The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 15C V.S.A. § 616)
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§ 616. Precluding establishment of parentage by perpetrator of sexual assault
(a) In a proceeding in which a person is alleged to have committed a sexual assault that
resulted in the birth of a child, the person giving birth may seek to preclude the
establishment of the other person’s parentage.
(b) This section shall not apply if the person alleged to have committed a sexual assault
has previously been adjudicated to be a parent of the child.
(c) In a parentage proceeding, the person giving birth may file a pleading making an allegation
under subsection (a) of this section at any time.
(d) The standard of proof that a child was conceived as a result of the person sexually
assaulting the person who gave birth to the child may be proven by the petitioner
by either of the following:
(1) clear and convincing evidence that the person was convicted of a sexual assault against
the person giving birth and that the child was conceived as a result of the sexual
assault; or
(2) clear and convincing evidence that the person sexually assaulted or sexually exploited
the person who gave birth to the child and that the child was conceived as a result
of the sexual assault or sexual exploitation, regardless of whether criminal charges
were brought against the person.
(e) If the court finds that the burden of proof under subsection (d) of this section is
met, the court shall enter an order:
(1) adjudicating that the person alleged to have committed a sexual assault is not a parent
of the child;
(2) requiring that the Department of Health amend the birth certificate to delete the
name of the person precluded as a parent; and
(3) requiring that the person alleged to have committed a sexual assault pay child support
or birth-related costs, or both, unless the person giving birth requests otherwise. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)