S 1839: Amends provisions about sex offenses and consent involving members of the clergy or other ministers of any religion or duly accredited Christian science practitioners.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1839 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, MAY -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to amending sex offenses and consent involving members of the clergy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 3 of section 130.05 of the 2 penal law, as added by section 1 of part JJ of chapter 55 of the laws of 3 2018, is amended and a new paragraph (l) is added to read as follows: 4 (j) detained or otherwise in the custody of a police officer, peace 5 officer, or other law enforcement official and the actor is a police 6 officer, peace officer or other law enforcement official who either: (i) 7 is detaining or maintaining custody of such person; or (ii) knows, or 8 reasonably should know, that at the time of the offense, such person was 9 detained or in custody[.]; or 10 (l) a member or adherent of an organized church or religious group and 11 the actor is a member of the clergy or other minister of any religion or 12 duly accredited Christian science practitioner charged with rape in the 13 third degree as defined in section 130.25 of this article, aggravated 14 sexual abuse in the fourth degree as defined in section 130.65-a of this 15 article, or sexual abuse in the third degree as defined in section 16 130.55 of this article, and the act of sexual conduct occurs during the 17 provision of pastoral counseling services within the context of minis- 18 terial charge or obligation. 19 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 130.10 of the penal law, as amended by 20 section 2 of part JJ of chapter 55 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 21 read as follows: 22 4. In any prosecution under this article in which the victim's lack of 23 consent is based solely on [his or her] the victim's incapacity to 24 consent because [he or she] the victim was less than seventeen years 25 old, mentally disabled, a client or patient and the actor is a health EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04307-01-5 
 S. 1839 2 1 care provider, a member or adherent of an organized church or religious 2 group and the actor is a member of the clergy or other minister of any 3 religion or duly accredited Christian science practitioner, detained or 4 otherwise in custody of law enforcement under the circumstances 5 described in paragraph (j) of subdivision three of section 130.05 of 6 this article, or committed to the care and custody or supervision of the 7 state department of corrections and community supervision or a hospital 8 and the actor is an employee, it shall be a defense that the defendant 9 was married to the victim as defined in subdivision four of section 10 130.00 of this article. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 12 have become a law.