What's happening
This bill expands the crime of forcible touching to include cases where the perpetrator intentionally chooses a location that makes it hard for the victim to escape.
Why it matters
Addresses perpetrator intent and planning. By including situations where the offender chooses a location that makes it hard for the victim to escape, this bill targets not just the act itself but also the calculated nature of the crime, recognizing a higher degree of premeditation and power imbalance.
Expands legal protection to a wider range of scenarios. The amendment is especially relevant in crowded or confined spaces—like elevators, small rooms, or isolated areas—where victims may have previously struggled to demonstrate that forcible touching occurred under aggravating circumstances.
May encourage more victims to come forward. By explicitly recognizing the role of location and the victim’s inability to escape, the law could validate experiences that were previously harder to prosecute, potentially increasing reporting rates and accountability for offenders.
Promotes deterrence and public safety. The bill sends a clear signal that exploiting environments to commit sexual offenses is a serious crime, aiming to deter perpetrators who might otherwise take advantage of such situations.
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Who cares
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Expand Forcible Touching Definition
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History
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Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6946
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 27, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to forcible touching
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 130.52 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 264 of the laws of 2003, the opening paragraph and subdivision 1 as amended and subdivision 2 as added by chapter 250 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: § 130.52 Forcible touching.
A person is guilty of forcible touching when such person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose:
1. forcibly touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor's sexual desire; [or]
2. subjects another person to sexual contact for the purpose of gratifying the actor's sexual desire and with intent to degrade or abuse such other person while such other person is a passenger on a bus, train, or subway car operated by any transit agency, authority or company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions; or
3. touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person, or subjects another person to sexual contact, for any such purpose, and the actor intentionally selected for such act or acts a location that made it difficult or impossible for the victim to avoid such touching or sexual contact.
For the purposes of this section, forcible touching includes squeezing, grabbing or pinching.
Forcible touching is a class A misdemeanor.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10333-01-9
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.