Section 13A-10-7

Section 13A-10-7Compounding.

(a) A person commits the crime of compounding if he gives or offers to give, or accepts or agrees to accept, any pecuniary benefit or other thing of value in consideration for:



(1) Refraining from seeking prosecution of a crime; or



(2) Refraining from reporting to law enforcement authorities the commission or suspected commission of any crime or information relating to the crime.



(b) It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that the pecuniary benefit did not exceed an amount which the actor reasonably believed to be due as restitution or indemnification for harm caused by the offense. The burden of injecting this defense is on the defendant.



(c) Compounding is a Class A misdemeanor.

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §4530.)