Illinois § 12-20.6 Abuse of a corpse

Illinois Statutes

§ 12-20.6 — Abuse of a corpse

Illinois § 12-20.6

JurisdictionIllinois

TopicRIGHTS AND REMEDIES

Ch. 720CRIMINAL OFFENSES

Act 720 ILCS 5/Criminal Code of 2012.

Art.Title III - Specific Offenses

This text of Illinois § 12-20.6 (Abuse of a corpse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 12-20.6 (2026).

Text

(a)In this Section: "Corpse" means the dead body of a human being. "Sexual conduct" has the meaning ascribed to the term in Section 11-0.1 of this Code.

(b)A person commits abuse of a corpse if he or she intentionally:

(1)engages in sexual conduct with a corpse or involving a corpse; or (2) removes or carries away a corpse and is not authorized by law to do so.

(c)Sentence.

(1)A person convicted of violating paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class 2 felony.

(2)A person convicted of violating paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

(d)Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section does not apply to:

(1)persons employed by a county medical examiner's office or coroner's office acting within the scope of their employ

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(a) In this Section: "Corpse" means the dead body of a human being. "Sexual conduct" has the meaning ascribed to the term in Section 11-0.1 of this Code. (b) A person commits abuse of a corpse if he or she intentionally: (1) engages in sexual conduct with a corpse or involving a corpse; or (2) removes or carries away a corpse and is not authorized by law to do so. (c) Sentence. (1) A person convicted of violating paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class 2 felony. (2) A person convicted of violating paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony. (d) Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section does not apply to: (1) persons employed by a county medical examiner's office or coroner's office acting within the scope of their employment; (2) the acts of a licensed funeral director or embalmer while performing acts authorized by the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licensing Code; (3) cemeteries and cemetery personnel while performing acts pursuant to a bona fide request from the involved cemetery consumer or his or her heirs, or pursuant to an interment or disinterment permit or a court order, or as authorized under Section 14.5 of the Cemetery Protection Act, or any other actions legally authorized for cemetery employees; (4) the acts of emergency medical personnel or physicians performed in good faith and according to the usual and customary standards of medical practice in an attempt to resuscitate a life; (5) physicians licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches or holding a visiting professor, physician, or resident permit under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, performing acts in accordance with usual and customary standards of medical practice, or a currently enrolled student in an accredited medical school in furtherance of his or her education at the accredited medical school; or (6) removing or carrying away a corpse by the employees, independent contractors, or other persons designated by the federally designated organ procurement agency engaged in the organ and tissue procurement process.