NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5281

Senate Bill S5281

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to deeming individuals facing criminal charges as being incapable of consent when the actor is a law enforcement agent who knows or should know that such person is facing pending charges

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 20, 2025	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2025-S5281 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §130.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S6790
2023-2024: S4348

2025-S5281 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Deems individuals facing criminal charges as being incapable of consent when the actor is a police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent who knows or reasonably should know that such person is facing pending charges unless such person is a member of the same family or household as such police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent.

2025-S5281 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5281

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to deeming persons incapable
of consent when such persons are facing pending criminal charges and the
actor is a police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent
who knows or reasonably should know that such person is facing pending
charges

 
PURPOSE::

To ensure that a law enforcement officer is prohibited from engaging in
sexual intercourse with an individual who the officer knows or reason-
ably should know has a pending criminal case.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::

Section 1 amends Penal Law section 130.05 section 1 to add new paragraph
1.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION::

The current law already considers a person in police custody to be inca-
pable of consent; however, that law does not include individuals who are
not in custody but who have open criminal cases pending. A law enforce-
ment officer engaging in a sexual relationship with someone whose fate
in the criminal justice system depends significantly on that officer's
good graces is abusing power and violating the public trust. Law
enforcement are employed to protect and serve, not coerce or exploit
individuals. This legislation seeks to close that loophole and adds a
new section to the penal law to indicate that any individual who the law
enforcement officer knows or reasonably should know has a pending crimi-
nal case is incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse with said
officer.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::

S.4348 of 2023-2024; Referred to Codes;

S. 6790 of 2021-22: New Bill, Referred to Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::

N/A

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::

N/A

 
EFFECTIVE DATE::

This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S5281 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5281
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SEPULVEDA,  FERNANDEZ  --  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 deeming persons  incapable
   of  consent  when such persons are facing pending criminal charges and
   the actor is a police officer, peace officer or other law  enforcement
   agent  who  knows or reasonably should know that such person is facing
   pending charges
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (j)  of subdivision 3 of section 130.05 of the
 penal law, as added by section 1 of part JJ of chapter 55 of the laws of
 2018, is amended and a new paragraph (l) is added to read as follows:
   (j) detained or otherwise in the custody of a  police  officer,  peace
 officer,  or  other  law  enforcement official and the actor is a police
 officer, peace officer or other law enforcement official who either: (i)
 is detaining or maintaining custody of such person; or  (ii)  knows,  or
 reasonably should know, that at the time of the offense, such person was
 detained or in custody[.]; OR
   (L) FACING PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGES AND THE ACTOR IS A POLICE OFFICER,
 PEACE  OFFICER  OR  OTHER  LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT WHO KNOWS OR REASONABLY
 SHOULD KNOW THAT SUCH PERSON  IS  FACING  PENDING  CHARGES  UNLESS  SUCH
 PERSON  IS  A MEMBER OF THE SAME FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD AS DEFINED IN PARA-
 GRAPHS (B), (C) AND (D) OF SUBDIVISION ONE  OF  SECTION  530.11  OF  THE
 CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE  LAW  AS SUCH POLICE OFFICER, PEACE OFFICER OR OTHER
 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09898-01-5

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Senate Bill S5281

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Sponsored By

Luis R. Sepúlveda