NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4784C
SPONSOR: Fall TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the domestic relations law and the
family court act, in relation to sex offender's custody of a child
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to strengthen existing protection for chil-
dren in the Domestic Relations Law. The bill establishes a rebuttable
presumption that it is not in the best interests of a child to be placed
in the custody of or to have unsupervised visits with a person who has
been convicted of one or more delineated felony sex offenses where the
victim of such offense or offenses is the child who is the subject of
the proceeding seeking custody or unsupervised visitation.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 1-c of section
240 of the domestic relations law as amended by chapter 371 of the laws
of 2013 by adding a paragraph that creates a rebuttable presumption that
it is not in the best interests of a child to be placed in the custody
of or to have unsupervised visits with a person who has been convicted
of a felony sex offense as defined in section 70.80 of the penal law'.
or convicted of an offense in another jurisdiction which, if committed
in this state would constitute such a felony sex offense when the child
who is the subject of the custody proceeding was the victim of the fore-
going felony sex offense.
Section 2 makes a conforming change to the Family Court Act.
Section 3 provides that this act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
Approximately 3 million cases of child abuse and neglect involving
almost 5.5 million children are reported each year. The majority of
cases reported to Child Protective Services involve neglect, followed by
physical and sexual abuse. There is considerable overlap among children
who are abused, with many suffering a combination of physical abuse,
sexual abuse, and/or neglect.
Sexual abuse is any sexual activity that a child cannot understand or
consent to. It includes acts such as fondling, oral-genital contact, and
genital and anal intercourse. It also includes exhibitionism, voyeurism,
and exposure to pornography. Studies have suggested that up to one in
four girls and one in eight.boys will be sexually abused before they are
eighteen years old. Most child abuse occurs within the family. Risk
factors include parental depression or other mental health issues, a
parental history of childhood abuse, and domestic violence.
In most cases, children who are abused or neglected suffer greater
mental health than physical health damage. Emotional and psychological
abuse and neglect deny the child the tools needed to cope with stress,
and to learn new skills to become resilient, strong, and successful. So
a child who is maltreated or neglected may have a wide range of
reactions and may even become depressed or develop suicidal, withdrawn,
or violent behavior. As the child victim get older, he or she may use
drugs or alcohol, try to run away, refuse discipline, or abuse others.
As an adult, he or she may develop marital and sexual difficulties,
depression, or suicidal behavior.
Not all children who are abused have severe reactions. Usually the youn-
ger the child, the longer the abuse continues, and the closer the
child's relationship with the abuser, the more serious the mental health
effects will be.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No impact
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4784--C
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 5, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FALL, GLICK, HYNDMAN, TAYLOR, SAYEGH, CRUZ,
COLTON, ROMEO, M. L. MILLER, D'URSO, CUSICK, GRIFFIN, PICHARDO,
STIRPE, ARROYO, COOK, RICHARDSON, RIVERA, BUTTENSCHON, SIMON, ORTIZ,
WILLIAMS, JEAN-PIERRE, McDONALD, JAFFEE, FRONTUS, NIOU -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. DE LA ROSA, EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Judiciary -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted
as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from
said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the family court act, in
relation to sex offender's custody of a child
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1-c of section 240 of the
2 domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 371 of the laws of 2013,
3 is amended to read as follows:
4 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contra-
5 ry, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the best
6 interests of the child to:
7 (A) be placed in the custody of or to visit with a person who has been
8 convicted of one or more of the following sexual offenses in this state
9 or convicted of one or more offenses in another jurisdiction which, if
10 committed in this state, would constitute one or more of the following
11 offenses, when a child who is the subject of the proceeding was
12 conceived as a result:
13 [(A)] (1) rape in the first or second degree;
14 [(B)] (2) course of sexual conduct against a child in the first
15 degree;
16 [(C)] (3) predatory sexual assault; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08328-09-9
A. 4784--C 2
1 [(D)] (4) predatory sexual assault against a child; or
2 (B) be placed in the custody of or have unsupervised visits with a
3 person who has been convicted of a felony sex offense, as defined in
4 section 70.80 of the penal law, or convicted of an offense in another
5 jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would constitute such a
6 felony sex offense, where the victim of such offense was the child who
7 is the subject of the proceeding.
8 § 2. Subdivision (a) of section 651 of the family court act, as
9 amended by chapter 85 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
10 follows:
11 (a) When referred from the supreme court or county court to the family
12 court, the family court has jurisdiction to determine, in accordance
13 with [subdivision] subdivisions one and one-c of section two hundred
14 forty of the domestic relations law and with the same powers possessed
15 by the supreme court in addition to its own powers, habeas corpus
16 proceedings and proceedings brought by petition and order to show cause,
17 for the determination of the custody or visitation of minors.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
19 have become a law.
