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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S4013
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to eliminat- ing defenses for patronizing a prostitute in the first degree
Purpose or general idea of bill
Eliminates the defense that the person charged with patronizing a pros- titute in the first degree did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the person was less than the age specified.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 230.07 of the penal law is amended to eliminate the defense allowed under section 230.07 in cases where a defendant is charged with patronizing a prostitute in the first degree.
Effects of present law which this bill would alter
Currently under section 13007 of the penal law, defendants charged with patronizing a prostitute in the first degree are allowed to apply the defense that the defendant did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the person was less than the age specified. This bill eliminates this defense for defendants charged with patronizing a prostitute in the first degree.
Justification
Section 230.06 of the penal law defines the crime of patronizing a pros- titute in the 1st degree as patronizing a prostitute and the person being patronized is less than 11 years of age. Since this crime by defi- nition involves a child under the age of 11, there is no reasonable basis for the belief that this child is over the age of 17. Further, even assuming that a defendant reasonably believed that a prostitute was "older" that 10 years of age, a prostitute between the ages of 11 and 17 is still a minor. While it may be difficult to distinguish between a 16-year old and a 17-year old there is no such "gray area" when distin- guishing between a 10-year-old child and an 17-year old man or woman. Regardless of whether a prostitute is 10 years old or 15, these boys and girls are minors. Defendants who are guilty of some degree of child molestation for soliciting these children should not be afforded a defense based on ignorance of the child's age.
Prior legislative history
01/09/13 REFERRED TO CODES 01/08/14 REFERRED TO CODES
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.