NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8071A
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to the treatment of certain juveniles for certain prostitution
offenses
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill amends the Criminal
Procedure Law to allow criminal court judges to treat individuals who
are charged with prostitution or loitering for the purposes of prostitu-
tion when sixteen or seventeen years of age as persons in need of super-
vision ("PINS") under the Family Court Act. It also provides that if
such an individual is convicted of or pleads guilty to such a charge,
the judge must substitute a youthful offender adjudication.
EXISTING LAW: Under current law these individuals are charged as crim-
inals in the criminal courts.
JUSTIFICATION: Individuals under the age of sixteen who are arrested
for prostitution or loitering for the purposes of prostitution are
treated in the Family Court as sexually exploited children and are
eligible for service alternatives as opposed to juvenile delinquency
adjudications. While the definition of a sexually exploited child, which
was created in 2007 under the Safe Harbour Law, includes children under
the age of eighteen, sixteen and seventeen year old brought to criminal
court are often not offered similar service alternatives but are instead
treated as criminals. This bill would bring some parity between those
under and over the age of sixteen who are arrested for alleged acts of
prostitution.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply
to such offenses alleged to have been committed on or after such effec-
tive date, as well as to charges for such offenses pending on such
effective date for which sentence had not yet been imposed.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8071--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 17, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the treatment
of certain juveniles for certain prostitution offenses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new
2 section 170.80 to read as follows:
3 § 170.80 Proceedings regarding certain prostitution charges; certain
4 teenagers.
5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a person is arrested
6 for prostitution or loitering for the purposes of prostitution and such
7 offense allegedly occurred when the person was sixteen or seventeen
8 years of age:
9 1. unless, after consultation with counsel a knowing and voluntary
10 plea of guilty has been entered to such charge, any judge or justice
11 hearing any stage of such case may, upon consent of the defendant after
12 consultation with counsel, convert such charge and retain it as a person
13 in need of supervision proceeding for all purposes and shall have the
14 authority to grant any relief available under article seven of the fami-
15 ly court act.
16 2. Any adverse finding and all records of the investigation and
17 proceedings relating to such charge shall be promptly expunged upon the
18 person's eighteenth birthday or the conclusion of the proceedings on the
19 charge before the court, whichever occurs later. In the event of a
20 conviction or plea of guilty to such charge or charges of prostitution
21 or loitering for the purposes of prostitution as described in the open-
22 ing paragraph and subdivision one of this section, the court must find
23 that the person is a youthful offender and proceed in accordance with
24 article seven hundred twenty of this chapter, provided, however, that
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11570-07-3
A. 8071--A 2
1 where the conviction for which the youthful offender finding is substi-
2 tuted is loitering for the purposes of prostitution as defined in
3 section 240.37 of the penal law, the available sentence shall be the
4 sentence that may be imposed for a violation as defined in the penal
5 law.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to such
7 offenses alleged to have been committed on or after such effective date,
8 as well as to charges for such offenses pending on such effective date
9 for which sentence had not yet been imposed.
