2016 Delaware Code
Title 11 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure
CHAPTER 90. COMPENSATION FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS OF CRIME
§ 9002. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) "Agency'' shall mean the Victims' Compensation Assistance Program.

(2) "Appeals Board'' shall mean the Victims' Compensation Assistance Program Appeals Board.

(3) "Child'' shall mean an unmarried person who is under 18 years of age, and shall include the stepchild, foster child, or adopted child of the victim, or child conceived prior to, but born after, the personal injury or death of the victim.

(4) "Council'' shall mean the Victims' Compensation Assistance Program Advisory Council.

(5) "Crime'' for purposes of this chapter shall mean:

a. Any specific offense set forth in Chapter 5 of this title, if the offense was committed after July 1, 1973, and contains the characteristics of murder, rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration or unlawful sexual contact, manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, riot, robbery, unlawful use of explosives, unlawful use of firearms, stalking or endangering the welfare of a child;

b. Any specific offense set forth in former Chapter 3 of this title, if such offense was committed prior to July 1, 1973, and contains the characteristics of murder, rape or any other sexual assault or sexual abuse, manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery, riot, unlawful use of explosives or unlawful use of firearms;

c. Any specific offense occurring in another state, possession or territory of the United States or in violation of the United States Criminal Code, in which a person whose domicile is in Delaware is a victim, if the offense contains the characteristics of murder, rape or any other sexual assault or sexual abuse, manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, riot, robbery, unlawful use of explosives or unlawful use of firearms as set forth in Chapter 5 of this title;

d. Any specific act of delinquency by a child, which if committed by an adult would constitute a specific offense set forth in Chapter 5 of this title, and contains the characteristics of murder, rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration or unlawful sexual contact, manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery, riot, unlawful use of explosives or unlawful use of firearms;

e. An act of terrorism, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2331, committed outside, or inside, the United States against a resident or domiciliary of this State;

f. Any offense under the Criminal Code or the Motor Vehicle Code containing as an element the act of driving under the influence of alcohol or any drug or driving with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration, vehicular homicide in any degree, vehicular assault in any degree, operation of a motor vehicle causing death, or leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury;

g. Any act of domestic violence or abuse; or

h. Any act of human trafficking as defined in § 787 of this title.

(6) "Dependent'' shall mean a person wholly or substantially dependent upon the income of the victim at the time of victim's death, or would have been so dependent but for the incompetency of the victim due to the injury from which the death resulted, and shall include a child born after the death of the victim.

(7) "Guardian'' shall mean any person, governmental instrumentality or private organization who is entitled by law or legal appointment to care for and manage the person or property, or both, of a child or incompetent.

(8) "Incompetent'' shall mean a person who is incapable of managing the person's own affairs, as determined by the Agency or by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(9) "Pecuniary loss'' in instances of personal injury shall include medical expenses, including psychiatric care and mental health counseling of the victim or secondary victims; nonmedical remedial care and treatment rendered in accordance with a religious method of healing; hospital expenses; loss of past or future earnings (including, but not limited to, reimbursement for vacation, sick and compensatory time) because of a disability resulting from such personal injury. "Pecuniary loss'' in instances of death of the victim shall include funeral and burial expenses, loss of support to the dependents of the victim and mental health counseling to secondary victims. "Pecuniary loss'' includes any other expenses actually and necessarily incurred as a result of the personal injury or death, but it does not include property damage. "Pecuniary loss'' includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Crime scene cleanup not to exceed $1,000;

b. Temporary housing not to exceed $1,500;

c. Moving expenses not to exceed $1,000;

d. Essential personal safety property not to exceed $1,500;

e. Lost wages of parents or others charged with the care, custody or guardianship of a child victim while providing care to a child victim;

f. Reasonable expenses, other than counseling of secondary victims where the victim has been killed by the act of a person during the commission of a crime, as defined in this chapter, not to exceed $1,000;

g. The deductible under a policy of automobile insurance where a motor vehicle is stolen in connection with a crime, as defined in this chapter, not to exceed the amount of the deductible;

h. Housing-related expenses, including, but not limited to, mortgage, rent, security deposit, or other housing costs and furniture not to exceed 3 times the victim's monthly prospective housing cost;

i. Loss of support for victims of violence, not to exceed $3,000, when it is established that:

1. The offender was gainfully employed or had other legal income at the time the crime as defined by the chapter was committed against the victim;

2. The victim is fully or partially dependent on the income of the offender; and

3. The victim no longer has that income from the offender;

j. Compensation for towing and impoundment expenses incurred as a direct result of a crime as defined in this chapter;

k. The cost to change locks and replace items seized as evidence;

l. Child care not to exceed the deposit plus 2 months of care by a state-approved or licensed day care provider; or

m. Reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred due to attendance at criminal proceedings as a witness for the prosecution;

(10) "Personal injury'' shall mean bodily harm; or mental, emotional or psychological harm, or shall include pregnancy resulting from the crime.

(11) "Secondary victims'' shall mean any parent, stepparent, grandparent, son, daughter, spouse, sibling, half-sibling, fiancé, caretaker of the victim, any child who resides on a regular or semi-regular basis with any adult who is the victim of, or convicted of, any crime involving an act of domestic violence, the parents of a victim's spouse or any other person who resided in the victim's household at the time of the crime or at the time of the discovery of the crime.

(12) "Victim'' shall mean a person who is injured or killed by the act of any other person during the commission of a crime as defined in this chapter.

59 Del. Laws, c. 519, § 1; 60 Del. Laws, c. 436, § 2; 66 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 1; 66 Del. Laws, c. 269, § 11; 67 Del. Laws, c. 71, § 1; 69 Del. Laws, c. 156, §§ 1, 2; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 11, §§ 1, 2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 424, §§ 4, 6; 72 Del. Laws, c. 460, §§ 1-5, 19; 73 Del. Laws, c. 250, §§ 2, 3; 74 Del. Laws, c. 296, §§ 1-6; 76 Del. Laws, c. 360, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 193, § 1; 78 Del. Laws, c. 103, §§ 6, 7; 79 Del. Laws, c. 276, § 2.;