A 8815: Increases penalties for indecent exposure and public sexual activities occurring within public and association libraries.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8815 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY June 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SLATER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for indecent exposure and public sexual activities occurring within public and association libraries The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 245.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 748 2 of the laws of 1968 and the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 373 3 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 245.00 Public lewdness. 5 A person is guilty of public lewdness when [he or she] such person 6 intentionally exposes the private or intimate parts of [his or her] such 7 person's body in a lewd manner or commits any other lewd act: 8 (a) in a public place, or 9 (b) (i) in private premises under circumstances in which [he or she] 10 such person may readily be observed from either a public place or from 11 other private premises, and with intent that [he or she] such person be 12 so observed, or (ii) while trespassing, as defined in section 140.05 of 13 this part, in a dwelling as defined in subdivision three of section 14 140.00 of this part, under circumstances in which [he or she] such 15 person is observed by a lawful occupant, or 16 (c) in the presence of a minor under the age of seventeen. 17 Public lewdness is a class B misdemeanor. 18 § 2. Section 245.03 of the penal law, as added by chapter 186 of the 19 laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 20 § 245.03 Public lewdness in the first degree. 21 A person is guilty of public lewdness in the first degree when: 22 1. being [nineteen] eighteen years of age or older and intending to be 23 observed by a person less than sixteen years of age in a place described 24 in subdivision (a) or (b) of section 245.00 of this article, [he or she] EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11297-01-5 
 A. 8815 2 1 such person intentionally exposes the private or intimate parts of [his 2 or her] such person's body in a lewd manner for the purpose of alarming 3 or seriously annoying such person less than sixteen years of age, and 4 [he or she] such person is thereby observed by such person less than 5 sixteen years of age in such place; or 6 2. [he or she] such person commits the crime of public lewdness, as 7 defined in section 245.00 of this article, and within the preceding year 8 has been convicted of an offense defined in such section 245.00 or this 9 section[.]; or 10 3. such person commits the crime of public lewdness, as defined in 11 section 245.00 of this article, within a public or association library, 12 as defined in section two hundred fifty-three of the education law. 13 Public lewdness in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor. 14 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 245.20 to read 15 as follows: 16 § 245.20 Aggravated public lewdness. 17 A person is guilty of aggravated public lewdness when: 18 1. such person commits public lewdness or public lewdness in the first 19 degree within a public or association library and has been previously 20 convicted of such an offense within the past ten years; or 21 2. such person engages in a sexual act, as defined in section 130.00 22 of this chapter, within a public or association library. 23 Aggravated public lewdness is a class E felony. 24 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 25 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.