Bill Text: NY A04784 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to restrictions on a sex offender's custody of or visitation with a child.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-2)

Status: (Passed) 2019-08-22 - SIGNED CHAP.182 [A04784 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04784-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4784
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 5, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Judiciary
        AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the  correction  law,  in
          relation to enacting "Marie's law"
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Marie's law".
     2    § 2. Paragraph (b) and the  opening  paragraph  of  paragraph  (c)  of
     3  subdivision 1-c of section 240 of the domestic relations law, as amended
     4  by chapter 371 of the laws of 2013, are amended to read as follows:
     5    (b)  (i)  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of this chapter to the
     6  contrary, [there shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the
     7  best interests of the child to be placed in the custody of or  to  visit
     8  with  a person] no person shall be granted physical or legal custody of,
     9  or unsupervised visitation with, a child if the person is required to be
    10  registered as a sex offender pursuant to article six-C of the correction
    11  law or who has been convicted of one or more  of  the  following  sexual
    12  offenses  in  this state or convicted of one or more offenses in another
    13  jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would constitute one  or
    14  more  of  the following offenses, when a child who is the subject of the
    15  proceeding was conceived as a result: (A) rape in the  first  or  second
    16  degree;  (B)  course  of  sexual  conduct  against  a child in the first
    17  degree; (C) predatory sexual assault; or (D)  predatory  sexual  assault
    18  against  a  child. The court may grant such physical or legal custody or
    19  unsupervised visitation with the child if it  finds  that  there  is  no
    20  significant  risk  to  the child and states its reasons in writing or on
    21  the record. The child may not be placed in a home in which  that  person
    22  resides, nor permitted to have unsupervised visitation with that person,
    23  unless  the  court  states the reasons for its findings in writing or on
    24  the record.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08328-02-9

        A. 4784                             2
     1    (ii) Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  this  chapter  to  the
     2  contrary,  no  person  shall be granted physical or legal custody of, or
     3  unsupervised visitation with, a child if anyone residing in the person's
     4  household is required, as a result of a felony conviction in  which  the
     5  victim  was  a  minor, to register as a sex offender pursuant to article
     6  six-C of the correction law, unless the court finds there is no  signif-
     7  icant  risk  to  the  child  and states its reasons in writing or on the
     8  record. The child may not be placed in  a  home  in  which  that  person
     9  resides, nor permitted to have unsupervised visitation with that person,
    10  unless  the  court  states the reasons for its findings in writing or on
    11  the record.
    12    (iii) The fact that a child is permitted unsupervised contact  with  a
    13  person  who is required, as a result of a felony conviction in which the
    14  victim was a minor, to be registered as a sex offender pursuant to arti-
    15  cle six-C of the correction law, shall be prima facie evidence that  the
    16  child  is  at  significant risk.   When making a determination regarding
    17  significant risk to the child, the prima facie evidence shall constitute
    18  a presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence.  However, this
    19  presumption shall not apply if there are factors mitigating against  its
    20  application,  including  whether the party seeking custody or visitation
    21  is also required, as the result of a  felony  conviction  in  which  the
    22  victim  was  a  minor, to register as a sex offender pursuant to article
    23  six-C of the correction law.
    24    (iv) No person shall be granted custody  of,  or  visitation  with,  a
    25  child  if  the  person has been convicted of rape in the first or second
    26  degree and the child was conceived as a result of that violation.
    27    (v) No person shall be granted custody of, or unsupervised  visitation
    28  with,  a  child  if the person has been convicted of murder in the first
    29  degree and the victim of the murder was the other parent  of  the  child
    30  who is the subject of the order, unless the court finds that there is no
    31  risk  to the child's health, safety, and welfare, and states the reasons
    32  for its finding in writing or on the record. In making its finding,  the
    33  court may consider, among other things, the following:
    34    (A)  the  wishes  of  the child, if the child is of sufficient age and
    35  capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent preference;
    36    (B) credible evidence that the convicted parent was a victim of  abuse
    37  committed  by the deceased parent. That evidence may include, but is not
    38  limited to, written reports by law enforcement agencies,  child  protec-
    39  tive  services or other social welfare agencies, courts, medical facili-
    40  ties, or  other  public  agencies  or  private  nonprofit  organizations
    41  providing services to victims of domestic abuse; or
    42    (C)  testimony  of an expert witness that the convicted parent experi-
    43  ences intimate partner battering.
    44    (vi) Unless and until a custody or visitation order is issued pursuant
    45  to this subdivision, no person shall permit or cause the child to  visit
    46  or  remain in the custody of the convicted parent without the consent of
    47  the child's custodian or legal guardian.
    48    (vii) The court may order child support to be paid by a person subject
    49  to this paragraph to be paid pursuant to  article  four  of  the  family
    50  court act.
    51    (v) The court shall not disclose, or cause to be disclosed, the custo-
    52  dial  parent's  place  of residence, place of employment, or the child's
    53  school, unless the court finds that the disclosure would be in the  best
    54  interest of the child.
    55    Notwithstanding paragraph (a) [or (b)] of this subdivision a court may
    56  order visitation or custody where:

        A. 4784                             3
     1    §  3.  Section  201  of  the correction law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
     3    2-a. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations with regard
     4  to  a person's grant of custody pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision
     5  one-c of section two hundred forty of the domestic relations  law.  Such
     6  regulations  shall  include  coordination  with  local  social  services
     7  districts and law enforcement agencies for purposes  of  monitoring  and
     8  supervising  such persons. Such regulations shall include provisions for
     9  permanent supervision for all persons required to be registered as a sex
    10  offender pursuant to article six-C  of  the  correction  law,  including
    11  level one sex offenders.
    12    §  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    13  have become a law.
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