Bill Text: NY S00749 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to endangering the welfare of a child; establishes the crime of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-03-20 - referred to codes [S00749 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S00749-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          749
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by Sens. FUSCHILLO, DeFRANCISCO, LARKIN, LAVALLE, MAZIARZ --
         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 endangering the welfare of
         a child
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 260.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter  447
    2  of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
    3  S 260.10 Endangering the welfare of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
    4    A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child IN THE SECOND
    5  DEGREE when:
    6    1.  He or she knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious to the
    7  physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than  seventeen  years
    8  old  or  directs  or  authorizes  such  child to engage in an occupation
    9  involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health; or
   10    2. Being a parent, guardian or other person legally charged  with  the
   11  care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old, he or she fails
   12  or refuses to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of such child
   13  to  prevent  him  or  her  from becoming an "abused child," a "neglected
   14  child," a "juvenile delinquent" or a "person in need of supervision," as
   15  those terms are defined in articles ten, three and seven of  the  family
   16  court act.
   17    3. A person is not guilty of the provisions of this section when he or
   18  she  engages  in  the  conduct  described  in subdivision one of section
   19  260.00 of this article: (a) with the intent to wholly abandon the  child
   20  by relinquishing responsibility for and right to the care and custody of
   21  such  child;  (b)  with  the intent that the child be safe from physical
   22  injury and cared for in an appropriate manner; (c)  the  child  is  left
   23  with an appropriate person, or in a suitable location and the person who
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01318-01-3
       S. 749                              2
    1  leaves  the child promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child's
    2  location; and (d) the child is not more than thirty days old.
    3    Endangering  the  welfare of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE is a class A
    4  misdemeanor.
    5    S 2. Section 260.11 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 89 of  the
    6  laws  of  1984,  is  renumbered  section  260.12  and amended to read as
    7  follows:
    8  S 260.12 Endangering the welfare of a child; corroboration.
    9    A person shall not be convicted of endangering the welfare of a  child
   10  IN THE FIRST OR SECOND DEGREE, or of an attempt to commit the same, upon
   11  the  testimony of a victim who is incapable of consent because of mental
   12  defect or mental incapacity as to conduct that constitutes an offense or
   13  an attempt to commit an offense referred to in section  130.16,  without
   14  additional  evidence  sufficient pursuant to section 130.16 to sustain a
   15  conviction of an offense referred to in section 130.16, or of an attempt
   16  to commit the same.
   17    S 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.11  to  read
   18  as follows:
   19  S 260.11 ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
   20    A  PERSON IS GUILTY OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST
   21  DEGREE WHEN, HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED OF  A  VIOLATION  OF  THIS
   22  SECTION  OR  OF  SECTION  260.10  OF THIS ARTICLE, HE OR SHE COMMITS THE
   23  CRIME OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
   24    ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE IS  A  CLASS  E
   25  FELONY.
   26    S 4. Section 260.15 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447 of the
   27  laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   28  S 260.15 Endangering the welfare of a child; defense.
   29    In any prosecution for endangering the welfare of a child, pursuant to
   30  section  260.10 OR 260.11 of this article, based upon an alleged failure
   31  or refusal to provide proper medical care or treatment to an ill  child,
   32  it is an affirmative defense that the defendant (a) is a parent, guardi-
   33  an  or  other  person  legally  charged with the care or custody of such
   34  child; and (b) is a member or adherent of an organized church  or  reli-
   35  gious group the tenets of which prescribe prayer as the principal treat-
   36  ment for illness; and (c) treated or caused such ill child to be treated
   37  in accordance with such tenets.
   38    S  5. Paragraph c of subdivision 5 of section 120.40 of the penal law,
   39  as added by chapter 635 of the laws of  1999,  is  amended  to  read  as
   40  follows:
   41    c. assault in the third degree, as defined in section 120.00; menacing
   42  in  the  first  degree,  as  defined  in section 120.13; menacing in the
   43  second degree, as defined in  section  120.14;  coercion  in  the  first
   44  degree,  as defined in section 135.65; coercion in the second degree, as
   45  defined in section 135.60; aggravated harassment in the  second  degree,
   46  as defined in section 240.30; harassment in the first degree, as defined
   47  in  section  240.25; menacing in the third degree, as defined in section
   48  120.15; criminal mischief in the third degree,  as  defined  in  section
   49  145.05;  criminal  mischief  in the second degree, as defined in section
   50  145.10, criminal mischief in the first degree,  as  defined  in  section
   51  145.12;  criminal  tampering  in the first degree, as defined in section
   52  145.20; arson in the fourth degree, as defined in section 150.05;  arson
   53  in  the third degree, as defined in section 150.10; criminal contempt in
   54  the first degree, as defined in section 215.51; endangering the  welfare
   55  of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE, as defined in section 260.10; ENDANGER-
       S. 749                              3
    1  ING  THE  WELFARE  OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION
    2  260.11; or
    3    S 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    4  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
feedback