STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 392 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 defining the crime of sex trafficking of a child, person who is mentally disabled, or person who is mentally incapacitated 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, person who is mentally disabled, 4 or person who is mentally incapacitated. 5 1. A person is guilty of sex trafficking of a child, person who is 6 mentally disabled, or person who is mentally incapacitated when: 7 (a) he or she, being twenty-one years old or more, intentionally 8 advances or profits from prostitution of another person and such person 9 is a child less than eighteen years old. Knowledge by the defendant of 10 the age of such child is not an element of this offense and it is not a 11 defense to a prosecution therefor that the defendant did not know the 12 age of the child or believed such age to be eighteen or over; or 13 (b) he or she intentionally advances or profits from prostitution of 14 another person and such person is mentally disabled or mentally incapac- 15 itated. 16 2. For purposes of this section: 17 (a) A person "advances prostitution" when, acting other than as a 18 person in prostitution or as a patron thereof, and with intent to cause 19 prostitution, he or she directly engages in conduct that facilitates an 20 act or enterprise of prostitution. 21 (b) A person "profits from prostitution" when, acting other than as a 22 person in prostitution receiving compensation for personally rendered 23 prostitution services, and with intent to facilitate prostitution, he or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02459-01-3S. 392 2 1 she accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement 2 or understanding with any person whereby he or she participates in the 3 proceeds of prostitution activity. 4 (c) The terms "mentally disabled" and "mentally incapacitated" shall 5 have the same meanings set forth in section 130.00 of this chapter. 6 Sex trafficking of a child, person who is mentally disabled, or person 7 who is mentally incapacitated is a class B felony. 8 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 9 have become a law.