South Carolina S 588: Criminal Coercive Control

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 588 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 22, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 588

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
16-25-140 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF COERCIVE CONTROL OVER ANOTHER PERSON, 
TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF BEHAVIOR AND EVIDENCE THAT MAY BE USED TO SUPPORT 
THE OFFENSE, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY, AND TO DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO COERCIVE 
CONTROL.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 25, Title 16 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 16-25-140. (A) For the purposes of this section:

 (1) 
"Coercive behavior" means an act or pattern of acts of assault, threats, 
humiliation, manipulation, intimidation, or other abuse, including emotional 
abuse, that is used to harm, punish, or frighten another person by fraudulent 
representations.

 (2) 
"Controlling behavior" means a range of acts designed to make a person 
subordinate or dependent by isolating the person from sources of support, 
exploiting the person's resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving 
the person of the means needed for independence, resistance, or escape, or 
regulating the person's everyday behavior.

 (3) 
"Personally connected" means persons who are:

 (a) 
engaged in an intimate personal relationship or have previously been in an 
intimate personal relationship; or

 (b) 
household members as defined in Section 16-25-10.

 (B)(1) When two persons are personally 
connected, it is unlawful for one person to repeatedly or continuously engage 
in a course of behavior toward the other person that is coercive or controlling 
and that results in the person fearing, on at least two occasions, that 
violence will be used against them or that results in their mental distress 
such that their day-to-day activities suffer substantial adverse effects. A 
person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, 
upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned 
not more than ten years, or both.

 (2) 
The offense of coercive control of another person may include, but is not 
limited to, the following types of behavior:

 (a) 
isolating a person from their friends and family;

 (b) 
depriving a person of basic needs;

 (c) 
monitoring a person's time;

 (d) 
monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware;

 (e) 
taking control over aspects of a person's everyday life, including where the 
person may go, who the person may see, what a person may wear, and when a 
person may sleep;

 (f) 
depriving a person access to support services, including medical services;

 (g) 
repeatedly insulting a person, including expressing the person's worthlessness;

 (h) 
enforcing rules and activities that humiliate, degrade, or dehumanize the 
person;

 (i) 
forcing a person to take part in criminal activity, including shoplifting and 
neglect or abuse of children, to encourage the person's self-blame and prevent 
disclosure to authorities;

 (j) 
financial abuse, including control of finances and only allowing a person a 
punitive allowance;

 (k) 
threats to hurt or kill;

 (l) 
threats to a child;

 (m) 
threats to reveal or publish private information or extort the person or a 
member of the person's family in retaliation by legal or other means;

 (n) 
assault;

 (o) 
rape; or

 (p) 
preventing a person from having access to transport or from working.

 (3) 
Evidence of coercive control of another person may include, but is not limited 
to, the following:

 (a) 
copies of emails, phone records, or text messages;

 (b) 
evidence of abuse over the Internet, digital technology, or social media 
platforms;

 (c) 
evidence of assault;

 (d) 
photographs of injuries, particularly defensive injuries to forearms, latent 
upper arm grabs, scalp bruising, or clumps of hair missing;

 (e) 
911 tapes or transcripts;

 (f) 
body-worn camera footage;

 (g) 
lifestyle and household evidence, including at-scene photographic evidence;

 (h) 
records of interaction with support services or law enforcement, including 
records of interaction prior to the current incident or investigation;

 (i) 
medical records;

 (j) 
witness testimony, including testimony from the family and friends, regarding 
the effect and impact of isolation of the person from friends or family, or 
other local witnesses with relevant observations of the person;

 (k) 
bank records to show financial control;

 (l) 
previous threats made to children or other family members;

 (m) 
diary kept by the person;

 (n) 
the person's account of the situation to law enforcement; or

 (o) 
evidence of isolation such as lack of contact between family and friends, 
person withdrawing from activities