Bill > S05881

This bill strengthens sentencing provisions for severe sex offenses against children and mentally disabled persons by mandating life imprisonment without parole for specific sexual crimes. The legislation creates a new category of offense called "aggravated rape" which applies when an offender who is 18 or older engages in sexual intercourse with someone less than 15 years old, with a person who is mentally disabled or incapacitated, or with someone under 13 years old. The bill modifies existing penal law to classify these offenses as class A-I felonies, which carry a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. There is a narrow affirmative defense if the perpetrator is less than four years older than the victim. The legislation also changes the classification of course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree from a class B to a class A-I felony, further emphasizing the serious nature of these crimes. The law will take effect on the first of November following its passage and will apply to offenses committed on or after that date, signaling a strong legislative intent to protect vulnerable populations from sexual abuse.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5881