Includes in the class D felony of promoting of prostitution in the third degree the advertisement for sexual conduct with a person under 18 years for money

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Amends section 230.25 of the penal law by adding a new subdi- vision 3 which states that a person is guilty of promoting prostitution in the third degree when he or she publishes, disseminates or displays, or causes, directly or indirectly, to be published, disseminated or displayed any advertisement, whether in print or electronic media, for sexual conduct with a person under the age of eighteen in exchange for money or any other property.

Section 2: Amends the penal law by adding a new section 230.26 providing an affirmative defense for promoting prostitution in the third degree. In any prosecution for promoting prostitution in the second degree, it is not a defense that the defendant did not know the age of the person under eighteen years of age in the advertisement. It is a defense to such offense, which the defendant must prove by a preponderance of evidence, that at the time of the offense, the defendant made a direct attempt to ascertain the true age of the person appearing in the adver- tisement by requiring, prior to publication of the advertisement, production and viewing of a valid driver's license, marriage license, birth certificate, or other governmental or educational identification card or paper of the person under eighteen years of age, and did not rely solely on oral or written allegations of such person's age or the apparent age of such person.

Section 3: This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

Justification

This legislation will include in the class D felony of promoting prosti- tution in the third degree, the advertisement for sexual conduct with a minor whether in print or electronic media. The sexual trafficking of individuals is a reprehensible act. While New York has been at the fore- front in the fight against prostitution and commercial sexual abuse, it persists.

The U.S. Department of Justice has estimated that as many as 17,500 people are trafficked to the country each year, but estimates have varied greatly. For example, some have put the number of children traf- ficked in the U.S. between 100,000 and 300,000. The numbers vary great- ly because of the crime's covert nature. Many incidents go unreported, and often the victim is trapped in their situation.

As technology has evolved, commercial sexual abuse has moved from the street level to the Internet. Victims are now marketed on sites afford- ing anonymity to the pimps and johns buying and selling them. The Polaris Project, an organization combating trafficking, states that the Internet is the number one platform used by pimps and johns. Victims are now trafficked through online escort services, chat rooms, and clas- sified ad web sites. Such platforms not only rapidly connect buyers with victims, but allow perpetrators to easily circumvent the law.

Among the leading sites carrying prostitution advertisements are Back- page.com, AdultSearch.com, Eros. com, and Cityvibe.com. The AIM Group tracked 22 of these sites during the last year and found that prostitu- tion advertising in 23 U.S. cities generated at least $36.7 million. Backpage.com, a general classified-advertising site, accounted for more than two-thirds of this amount. This site has an especially large impact in New York State. In counting the number of ads posted in the "Escorts Section" of Backpage on April 18, 2012, New York has the second highest total with 2,847.

Advertisements do not explicitly state that a child is being trafficked. Instead, ads used coded language to disguise the age of a minor. Victims may be listed as 18 years of old, or simply denoted as "young". This legislation will require sites to make a genuine attempt to obtain documentation that escorts advertised are at least 18 years of age. This can include government issued identification or a birth certificate.

Internet sites cannot be allowed to continue posting these advertise- ments with impunity. This legislation does not prevent sites from post- ing ads, nor does it determine its content. Sites are still allowed to publish ads, but must first obtain documentation proving the individual depicted is not a minor. This legislation will protect the most vulner- able, and hopefully stem the tide of internet prostitution at large.

Legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.