What's happening
This bill creates a new first-degree felony for producing or directing ten or more obscene sexual performances by a child under seventeen.
Why it matters
Creates a harsher felony tier (class C) for those who produce or direct a large number (ten or more) of obscene sexual performances involving children under 17, signaling that repeat or large-scale offenders will face more severe penalties.
Redefines “performance” in this context to include not just plays, movies, or dances, but also photographic sessions with multiple photos, potentially broadening the scope of what can be prosecuted under the new law.
Preserves the existing (now ‘second degree’) offense for producing, directing, or promoting a single obscene performance by a child, but distinguishes it with a lesser penalty (class D felony), emphasizing a graduated approach to punishment.
May deter organized or serial offenders by targeting those who engage in systematic or repeated exploitation, rather than treating all offenses identically, which could result in longer prison terms for prolific perpetrators.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Criminalize Child Sexual Performances
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 38
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3532
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 8, 2019
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first degree
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 263.09 to read as follows: § 263.09 Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first
degree.
A person is guilty of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first degree when, knowing the character and content thereof, he or she produces or directs ten or more obscene performances, each of which includes sexual conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age. Notwithstanding subdivision four of section 263.00 of this article, for purposes of this section, a "performance" shall mean a play, motion picture or dance, or a photographic session at which multiple photographs are taken.
Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first degree is a class C felony.
§ 2. Section 263.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: § 263.10 Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the
second degree.
A person is guilty of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the second degree when, knowing the character and content thereof, he produces, directs or promotes any obscene performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age.
Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the second degree is a class D felony.
§ 3. 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.
LBD06277-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to promot- ing an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first degree
Purpose
To create two different classes of the felony promoting an obscene sexu- al performance by a child; first degree which is a C felony and second degree which is a D felony.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Adds a new section 263.09 to the penal law, promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in the first degree. Such crime shall be a C felony, when knowing the character and content, & person produces or directs ten or more obscene performances which include sexu- al conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age. For purposes of this section, a photograph shall mean a play, motion picture or dance, or a photographic session at which multiple photographs are taken.
Section 2. Amends section 263.10 of the penal law by providing that 263.10, promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, shall be a crime in the second degree. 263.10 is a D felony.
Section 3. Effective date.
Justification
This bill responds to the increasing misuse of the Internet as a medium for the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. A recent study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that 1 in 4 children were subjected to unwanted exposure to pictures of nude indi- viduals or people engaged in sexual activity on the internet last year.
Child pornography is a particular threat, as it not only victimizes the children used in the production or pictures, but creates a ripple effect in the victimization of further children. Child abuse experts have docu- mented the common tendency of pedophiles to lower the inhibitions of potential victims by exposing them to images of other children engaging in sexual activity.
No level of child pornography is harmless and the current statutory scheme reflects that insight. However, the unintended consequence of a "one size fits all" statutory scheme lends itself to unwarranted lenien- cy for child pornographers overall. The high-volume dealer may escape criminal liability proportionate to the crime, both through a low top felony count and through the frequent conflation of multiple counts at sentencing.
A statutory amendment to provide for higher penalties with regard to child pornography offenses is urgently required to assist law enforce- ment in the face of evolving technology. Over the past decade, explosive growth in disk storage capacity has facilitated the development of massive collections of child pornography, while evolving Internet commu- nication technology has enabled collection owners to organize sophisti- cated trade-or-profit-based mechanisms for its distribution. A higher penalty for a child pornography offense involving ten or more perform- ances is consistent with other New York statutes governing distribution and possession of contraband. For example, in the area of narcotics and possession of stolen property, the state statutes are graded to reflect the insight that kingpins and mid-level operatives generally pose a greater threat to society than street-level criminals. The higher penal- ty imposed by this bill would also be in harmony with the effect of federal procedures in the area of child pornography.
Therefore, this legislation increases the penalty from a class D felony to a class C felony when there are ten or more performances.
Legislative history
2017-18: 5717 - PASSED SENATE 2015-16: S1739/A1985 - Passed Senate/Codes 2014: S6533/A4087 - Codes Committee/Codes Committee
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.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.