Amd 260.10, 70.02, 260.12 & 260.15, ren 260.11 to be 260.12, add 260.11, Pen L
Creates a new class D violent felony offense of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree; converts the current offense of endangering the welfare of a child to a second degree crime.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8635
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMPSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the crime of endangering
the welfare of a child and to create a new crime of endangering the
welfare of a child in the first degree
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 260.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447
2 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 260.10 Endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree.
4 A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child in the second
5 degree when:
6 1. He or she knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious to the
7 physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than seventeen years
8 old or directs or authorizes such child to engage in an occupation
9 involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health; or
10 2. Being a parent, guardian or other person legally charged with the
11 care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old, he or she fails
12 or refuses to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of such child
13 to prevent him or her from becoming an "abused child," a "neglected
14 child," a "juvenile delinquent" or a "person in need of supervision," as
15 those terms are defined in articles ten, three and seven of the family
16 court act.
17 3. A person is not guilty of the provisions of this section when he or
18 she engages in the conduct described in subdivision one of section
19 260.00 of this article: (a) with the intent to wholly abandon the child
20 by relinquishing responsibility for and right to the care and custody of
21 such child; (b) with the intent that the child be safe from physical
22 injury and cared for in an appropriate manner; (c) the child is left
23 with an appropriate person, or in a suitable location and the person who
24 leaves the child promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child's
25 location; and (d) the child is not more than thirty days old.
26 Endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree is a class A
27 misdemeanor.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05886-01-1
A. 8635 2
1 § 2. Section 260.11 of the penal law is renumbered section 260.12.
2 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.11 to read
3 as follows:
4 § 260.11 Endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree.
5 A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child in the first
6 degree when:
7 1. He or she knowingly acts in a manner which creates a risk of either
8 serious physical injury or prolonged impairment of the mental or
9 emotional condition of a child less than seventeen years old; or
10 2. He or she commits the offense of endangering the welfare of a child
11 in the second degree, when:
12 (a) The child is less than eleven years old; or
13 (b) The child suffered physical injury; or
14 (c) He or she has previously been convicted of any of the following
15 offenses: endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree as
16 defined in section 260.10; endangering the welfare of a child in the
17 first degree as defined in this section; abandonment of a child as
18 defined in section 260.00; assault in the second degree as defined in
19 subdivision eight or nine of section 120.05; aggravated assault upon a
20 person less than eleven years old as defined in section 120.12;
21 manslaughter in the first degree as defined in subdivision four of
22 section 125.20; murder in the second degree as defined in subdivision
23 four of section 125.25; rape in the third degree as defined in subdivi-
24 sion two of section 130.25; rape in the second degree as defined in
25 section 130.30; rape in the first degree as defined in subdivision three
26 of section 130.35; criminal sexual act in the third degree as defined in
27 subdivision two of section 130.40; criminal sexual act in the second
28 degree as defined in section 130.45; criminal sexual act in the first
29 degree as defined in subdivision three of section 130.50; sexual abuse
30 in the second degree as defined in subdivision two of section 130.60;
31 sexual abuse in the first degree as defined in subdivision three of
32 section 130.65; aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree as defined
33 in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section 130.66; aggravated sexual
34 abuse in the second degree as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision
35 one of section 130.67; aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree as
36 defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section 130.70; course of
37 sexual conduct against a child in the first degree as defined in section
38 130.75; course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree as
39 defined in section 130.80; disseminating indecent material to minors in
40 the second degree as defined in section 235.21; disseminating indecent
41 material to minors in the first degree as defined in section 235.22; use
42 of a child in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05; promot-
43 ing an obscene sexual performance by a child as defined in section
44 263.10; possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child as defined
45 in section 263.11; promoting a sexual performance by a child as defined
46 in section 263.15; possessing a sexual performance by a child as defined
47 in section 263.16; or a similar offense against a child in any other
48 jurisdiction.
49 Endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree is a class D
50 felony.
51 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 70.02 of the penal law,
52 as amended by chapter 134 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
53 follows:
54 (c) Class D violent felony offenses: an attempt to commit any of the
55 class C felonies set forth in paragraph (b); reckless assault of a child
56 as defined in section 120.02, assault in the second degree as defined in
A. 8635 3
1 section 120.05, menacing a police officer or peace officer as defined in
2 section 120.18, stalking in the first degree, as defined in subdivision
3 one of section 120.60, strangulation in the second degree as defined in
4 section 121.12, rape in the second degree as defined in section 130.30,
5 criminal sexual act in the second degree as defined in section 130.45,
6 sexual abuse in the first degree as defined in section 130.65, course of
7 sexual conduct against a child in the second degree as defined in
8 section 130.80, aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree as defined
9 in section 130.66, facilitating a sex offense with a controlled
10 substance as defined in section 130.90, labor trafficking as defined in
11 paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision three of section 135.35, endanger-
12 ing the welfare of a child in the first degree as defined in section
13 260.11, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree as defined
14 in subdivision five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten of section 265.02,
15 criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree as defined in section
16 265.11, intimidating a victim or witness in the second degree as defined
17 in section 215.16, soliciting or providing support for an act of terror-
18 ism in the second degree as defined in section 490.10, and making a
19 terroristic threat as defined in section 490.20, falsely reporting an
20 incident in the first degree as defined in section 240.60, placing a
21 false bomb or hazardous substance in the first degree as defined in
22 section 240.62, placing a false bomb or hazardous substance in a sports
23 stadium or arena, mass transportation facility or enclosed shopping mall
24 as defined in section 240.63, aggravated unpermitted use of indoor pyro-
25 technics in the first degree as defined in section 405.18, and criminal
26 manufacture, sale, or transport of an undetectable firearm, rifle or
27 shotgun as defined in section 265.50.
28 § 5. Section 260.12 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 89 of the
29 laws of 1984 and as renumbered by section two of this act, is amended to
30 read as follows:
31 § 260.12 Endangering the welfare of a child; corroboration.
32 A person shall not be convicted of endangering the welfare of a child
33 as defined in section 260.10 or 260.11 of this article, or of an attempt
34 to commit the same, upon the testimony of a victim who is incapable of
35 consent because of mental defect or mental incapacity as to conduct that
36 constitutes an offense or an attempt to commit an offense referred to in
37 section 130.16, without additional evidence sufficient pursuant to
38 section 130.16 to sustain a conviction of an offense referred to in
39 section 130.16, or of an attempt to commit the same.
40 § 6. Section 260.15 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447 of the
41 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
42 § 260.15 Endangering the welfare of a child; defense.
43 In any prosecution for endangering the welfare of a child, pursuant to
44 section 260.10 or 260.11 of this article, based upon an alleged failure
45 or refusal to provide proper medical care or treatment to an ill child,
46 it is an affirmative defense that the defendant (a) is a parent, guardi-
47 an or other person legally charged with the care or custody of such
48 child; and (b) is a member or adherent of an organized church or reli-
49 gious group the tenets of which prescribe prayer as the principal treat-
50 ment for illness; and (c) treated or caused such ill child to be treated
51 in accordance with such tenets.
52 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
53 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
