COMPOUNDING OFFENSE
A criminal act in which a person agrees not to
report the occurrence of a crime or not to prosecute
a criminal offender in exchange for money or
other consideration.
The offense is also committed when a person
accepts remuneration for encouraging a witness
to be absent from a trial or employs any unlaw-
ful tactics to delay a criminal proceeding.
Under the COMMON LAW and most modern
statutes a compounding offense consists of three
basic elements: (1) knowledge of the crime;
(2) the agreement not to prosecute or inform;
and (3) the receipt of consideration. The offense
is complete when there is an agreement to either
withhold evidence of the crime, conceal it, or fail
to prosecute it. A crime is not compounded
when a person merely reacquires property previ-
ously stolen from him or her; the crime would
further require that the return of the stolen
property was conditioned on an agreement not
to report or prosecute the crime.
The individual compounding the crime
must be aware of the previous offense although
the person who committed it need not be tried
or convicted. The fact that the person who com-
mitted the previous crime is not tried until after
the prosecution for compounding occurs is
irrelevant.
The consideration can consist of anything of
value, such as money, property, or a promise of
monetary gain. Only the recipient of the consid-
eration can be guilty of compounding an
offense. Although the person who offers the
consideration is not considered guilty of compounding
a crime, he or she might be guilty of BRIBERY.
At common law the compounding of any
crime was an offense. Today many jurisdictions
limit the offense to the compounding of
felonies. The usual punishment is a fine, imprisonment,
or both.
