Establishes the crimes of sex trafficking of a vulnerable person and predatory sex trafficking when a person intentionally advances or profits from prostitution of a vulnerable person.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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2528
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to sex trafficking of a
vulnerable person
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 230.34-a of the penal law, as added by chapter 189
2 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 230.34-a Sex trafficking of a child or vulnerable person.
4 1. A person is guilty of sex trafficking of a child when he or she,
5 being twenty-one years old or more, intentionally advances or profits
6 from prostitution of another person and such person is a child less than
7 eighteen years old. Knowledge by the defendant of the age of such child
8 is not an element of this offense and it is not a defense to a prose-
9 cution therefor that the defendant did not know the age of the child or
10 believed such age to be eighteen or over.
11 2. A person is guilty of sex trafficking of a vulnerable person when
12 he or she intentionally advances or profits from prostitution of another
13 person and such person is a vulnerable person, as such term is defined
14 in this section.
15 3. For purposes of this section:
16 (a) A person "advances prostitution" when, acting other than as a
17 person in prostitution or as a patron thereof, and with intent to cause
18 prostitution, he or she directly engages in conduct that facilitates an
19 act or enterprise of prostitution.
20 (b) A person "profits from prostitution" when, acting other than as a
21 person in prostitution receiving compensation for personally rendered
22 prostitution services, and with intent to facilitate prostitution, he or
23 she accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement
24 or understanding with any person whereby he or she participates in the
25 proceeds of prostitution activity.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05001-01-3
A. 2528 2
1 (c) A person is a "vulnerable person" when such person is mentally
2 disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, as such terms
3 are defined in section 130.00 of this part.
4 Sex trafficking of a child or vulnerable person is a class B felony.
5 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 130.97 to read
6 as follows:
7 § 130.97 Predatory sex trafficking.
8 A person is guilty of predatory sex trafficking when, being eighteen
9 years old or more, he or she commits the crime of sex trafficking of a
10 child or vulnerable person.
11 Predatory sex trafficking is a class A-II felony.
12 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
13 have become a law.
