Vermont § 1028 - Assault of protected professional; assault with bodily fluids

§ 1028. Assault of protected professional; assault with bodily fluids

• (a) A person convicted of a simple or aggravated assault against a protected professional
  as defined in subdivision (d)(1) of this section while the protected professional
  is performing a lawful duty, or with the intent to prevent the protected professional
  from performing his or her lawful duty, in addition to any other penalties imposed
  under sections 1023 and 1024 of this title, shall: (1) for the first offense, be imprisoned not more than one year; (2) for the second offense and subsequent offenses, be imprisoned not more than 10 years. (b)(1) No person shall intentionally cause blood, vomitus, excrement, mucus, saliva, semen,
  or urine to come in contact with a protected professional while the person is performing
  a lawful duty. (2) A person who violates this subsection shall be imprisoned not more than one year or
  fined not more than $1,000.00, or both. (c) In imposing a sentence under this section, the court shall take into consideration
  whether the defendant was a patient at the time of the offense and had a psychiatric
  illness, the symptoms of which were exacerbated by the surrounding circumstances,
  irrespective of whether the illness constituted an affirmative defense to the charge. (d) As used in this section: (1) “Protected professional” shall mean a law enforcement officer; a firefighter; a health
  care worker; an employee, contractor, or grantee of the Department for Children and
  Families; or any emergency medical personnel as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 2651(6). (2) “Health care facility” shall have the same meaning as defined in 18 V.S.A. § 9432(8). (3) “Health care worker” means an employee of a health care facility or a licensed physician
  who is on the medical staff of a health care facility who provides direct care to
  patients or who is part of a team-response to a patient or visitor incident involving
  real or potential violence. (e) This section shall not apply to an individual under 18 years of age residing in a
  residential rehabilitation facility. (Added 1973, No. 219 (Adj. Sess.), eff. 30 days from April 3, 1974; amended 1995, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2007, No. 51, § 18; 2007, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2011, No. 26, § 1, eff. May 12, 2011; 2015, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)