Child Molestation Lawyer New York

New York’s Penal Law does not contain an offense named child molestation. The phrase is common in family conversation, school reporting, and news coverage, but a New York accusatory instrument names a statutory section, not a phrase. Conduct that people describe as child molestation is charged under the sexual abuse sections of Penal Law Article 130, under the rape sections where the age thresholds in those sections are met, and under Article 263 where images of a child are involved.

The distance between the everyday phrase and the charged section is not cosmetic. The section and subdivision selected by the District Attorney set the grade of the offense, the elements the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and whether a conviction is treated as a registerable offense under N.Y. Correct. Law § 168-a. Across the sections addressed on this page, exposure runs from a class B misdemeanor to a class B felony, and the difference frequently turns on the age of the complainant, the age of the accused person, and whether the alleged contact is described as forcible or as contact with a person the statute treats as incapable of consent.

Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997 and defends people accused of criminal conduct. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. The firm maintains 24/7 phone intake. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

On this page

The Sexual Abuse Sections and Their Age Thresholds

N.Y. Penal Law § 130.05 supplies the organizing rule for Article 130: lack of consent is an element of every offense in the article. Subdivision 3 of that section lists the persons deemed incapable of consent, including those under seventeen, the mentally disabled or incapacitated, the physically helpless, and persons in custodial or supervisory relationships. Where a complainant falls within subdivision 3, lack of consent is established through status rather than through proof of refusal or resistance.

N.Y. Penal Law § 130.65, sexual abuse in the first degree, is a class D felony. It covers sexual contact by forcible compulsion, sexual contact with a person incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless, sexual contact with a person less than eleven years old, and sexual contact with a person less than thirteen years old where the actor is twenty-one or older. It is a sexually violent offense under N.Y. Correct. Law § 168-a(3)(a)(i).

N.Y. Penal Law § 130.60, sexual abuse in the second degree, is a class A misdemeanor. It reaches sexual contact where the other person is incapable of consent by reason of some factor other than being less than seventeen years old, and sexual contact with a person less than fourteen years old. It is listed as a sex offense in N.Y. Correct. Law § 168-a(2)(a)(i).

N.Y. Penal Law § 130.55, sexual abuse in the third degree, is a class B misdemeanor covering sexual contact without consent. That section carries an affirmative defense where the lack of consent was due solely to the victim being under seventeen, the victim was more than fourteen, and the defendant was less than five years older.

The age figures in these sections are not interchangeable, and neither are the grades attached to them. Reading an allegation against the wrong subdivision produces the wrong assessment of what the prosecution actually has to prove.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

Work begins with the charging document rather than with the accusation as it was first described. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys identify the exact section and subdivision charged, then set the sworn allegations beside the elements of that subdivision. A count under N.Y. Penal Law § 130.65 resting on the complainant being less than eleven years old requires proof of that age. A count resting on the complainant being less than thirteen additionally requires proof that the actor was twenty-one or older. Age is an element, and elements are proved with records.

Discovery review follows. That includes the documented account of the complainant and the sequence in which the allegation surfaced, statements attributed to the accused person, medical or forensic material, and the electronic record where devices are involved. Where the reported conduct and the charged subdivision do not line up, the mismatch is raised through motion practice rather than left for summation.

Collateral consequences are analyzed alongside the criminal exposure, because N.Y. Correct. Law § 168-a classifies offenses for registration purposes and that classification travels with the section of conviction rather than with the conduct as described in a complaint. The date of the alleged conduct is confirmed early as well, since Article 130 has been amended and the version that governs is the version in force when the conduct is alleged to have occurred.

None of this is a promise of a particular result. It is a method for requiring the prosecution to prove the subdivision it selected, on the record, with admissible proof.

Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys

Mr. Sris is the Owner and Founder of the firm, which was founded in 1997. He is a former prosecutor, and that background shapes how a charging decision is read: which subdivision a prosecutor is positioned to support, what proof of age looks like in practice, and where an accusatory instrument outruns the file behind it. He is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.

Matters involving allegations of sexual contact with a child are handled by Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys. Communication is direct about what the charged section requires and about what the available record does and does not show, including where the answer is that a question cannot yet be answered. The firm maintains 24/7 phone intake for people who learn of an investigation outside ordinary business hours, and consultations are scheduled by appointment.

An accusation of this kind reaches employment, housing, and immigration status well before a court reaches any verdict. Counsel is retained not only for the courtroom but for the period in which an investigation is open and no charge has been filed, when what is said to an investigator can determine which subdivision is eventually charged. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is child molestation a charge that appears on a New York accusatory instrument?

No. New York has no offense by that name. If you have been told the allegation is child molestation, the charge that is actually filed will be a section of the Penal Law, such as sexual abuse in the first, second, or third degree under N.Y. Penal Law §§ 130.65, 130.60, and 130.55, a rape section where the age thresholds in that section are met, or an Article 263 offense where images of a child are involved. Ask for the section and subdivision numbers, because the grade and the elements follow from them.

What separates sexual abuse in the first degree from the lower degrees?

Grade and elements. Sexual abuse in the first degree under N.Y. Penal Law § 130.65 is a class D felony requiring forcible compulsion, a person incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless, a person less than eleven years old, or a person less than thirteen years old where the actor is twenty-one or older. Sexual abuse in the second degree under § 130.60 is a class A misdemeanor reaching sexual contact with a person less than fourteen, or with a person incapable of consent for some factor other than being less than seventeen. Sexual abuse in the third degree under § 130.55 is a class B misdemeanor covering sexual contact without consent.

Does a conviction under these sections carry sex offender registration?

Registration categories are defined by N.Y. Correct. Law § 168-a. Sexual abuse in the first degree under N.Y. Penal Law § 130.65 is a sexually violent offense under § 168-a(3)(a)(i). Sexual abuse in the second degree under § 130.60 is listed as a sex offense under § 168-a(2)(a)(i). Because the classification attaches to the section of conviction, the registration question cannot be answered from the conduct described in a complaint alone; it is answered from the section a plea or verdict actually establishes. Counsel should confirm the classification against the statute for the specific section charged in your matter.

When do the rape sections or Article 263 apply instead?

They apply where their own elements are met. N.Y. Penal Law § 130.35, rape in the first degree, is a class B felony and includes a person less than eleven, or less than thirteen where the actor is eighteen or more. N.Y. Penal Law § 130.30, rape in the second degree, is a class D felony reaching an actor eighteen or older with a person less than fifteen. N.Y. Penal Law § 130.25, rape in the third degree, is a class E felony reaching an actor twenty-one or older with a person under seventeen. Where imagery is involved, § 263.16 covers possessing a sexual performance by a child less than sixteen, and § 263.15 covers promoting a sexual performance by a child less than seventeen.

Does the recent amendment to Article 130 affect a case charged today?

It can. The amendment act, L.2023 c.777, removed sexual intercourse as the Article 130 term of art and replaced it with vaginal sexual contact, meaning contact between the penis and the vagina or vulva with no penetration element, together with oral sexual contact and anal sexual contact. The same act repealed several Article 130 sections outright, so a count citing a repealed section is defective on its face. The effective date of that act is not settled, and the version of the statute that governs is the version in force on the date of the alleged conduct.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney Advertising. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., principal office: 4008 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule.

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