What's happening
This bill prohibits most sex offenders, especially those involved in crimes against children, from being granted custody or unsupervised visitation.
Why it matters
Significantly raises the legal barrier for certain sex offenders—especially those convicted of crimes involving children or classified as the highest risk (level three)—to obtain custody or unsupervised visitation, prioritizing child safety even in complicated family situations.
Shifts the legal standard by creating a presumption of ineligibility for level three sex offenders, requiring them to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that custody or visitation would be in the child’s best interest, making it much harder to gain such rights.
Limits judicial discretion by only allowing exceptions in “extraordinary circumstances,” thereby making it less likely that courts can grant custody or unsupervised visitation to high-risk offenders on a case-by-case basis.
May affect ongoing custody cases, potentially leading to the reevaluation of existing arrangements if one parent is a registered high-risk sex offender, and could impact how family law attorneys advise clients involved in such situations.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Restrict Sex Offender Visitation
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to correction
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
11086
IN ASSEMBLY
June 4, 2018
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. B. Miller) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to custody and visitation rights of a sex offender
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 168-w of the correction law, as relettered by chapter 604 of the laws of 2005, is renumbered section 168-x and a new section 168-w is added to read as follows:
§ 168-w. Custody and visitation rights. 1. Any sex offender designated as a sexual predator, or a sexually violent offender, or classified as a level three risk, for a crime involving a child shall be, except in extraordinary circumstances, prohibited from being granted by a court physical or legal custody of, or unsupervised visitation with, a child.
2. Any sex offender classified as a level three risk shall be presumed to be ineligible to be granted physical or legal custody of, or unsupervised visitation with, a child, and a court shall grant physical or legal custody of, or unsupervised visitation with, a child only if the sex offender has provided clear and convincing evidence that granting such custody or visitation will be in the best interest of the child.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16029-01-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.