STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1919 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ 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 such person, being twenty-one years old or more, intentionally advances 6 or profits from prostitution of another person and such person is a 7 child less than eighteen years old. Knowledge by the defendant of the 8 age of such child is not an element of this offense and it is not a 9 defense to a prosecution therefor that the defendant did not know the 10 age of the child or 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] such person directly engages in conduct that 19 facilitates an 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 23 or she] such person accepts or receives money or other property pursuant 24 to an agreement or understanding with any person whereby [he or she] 25 such person participates in the proceeds of prostitution activity. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03011-01-5
A. 1919 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, such person 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.