Statutory Rape Laws New York

What people call New York’s statutory rape laws are the age-based provisions of Penal Law Article 130; no New York statute carries that name. The provisions doing the work are § 130.25, § 130.30 and § 130.35 on the rape side, § 130.55, § 130.60 and § 130.65 on the sexual abuse side, and the consent rule at § 130.05 that ties them to age.

If you are reading to learn what the law says rather than to hire counsel, the useful frame is this: Article 130 does not create an age offense. It creates a consent element, then supplies categories of people who cannot give consent, and age is one of those categories. Each section adds its own age line and, in most instances, its own requirement about how old the accused was. Article 130 was recently restructured by L.2023 c.777, so the date of the alleged conduct matters to which text applies. Request a consultation. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997 and maintains 24/7 phone intake at (888) 437-7747.

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What the Statute Says and What It Does Not Say

Section 130.05 states that lack of consent is an element of every offense in Article 130. Subdivision three identifies persons deemed incapable of consent, including persons under seventeen, persons who are mentally disabled or mentally incapacitated, persons who are physically helpless, and persons in custodial or supervisory relationships. Because the consent element is common to the article, that incapacity list has effect across it rather than in one section.

The sections set the age combinations. Rape in the first degree, § 130.35, includes a person less than eleven years old, and a person less than thirteen years old where the actor is eighteen or more. Rape in the second degree, § 130.30, reaches an actor eighteen or older and a person less than fifteen in subdivisions one through three. Rape in the third degree, § 130.25, reaches an actor twenty-one or older and a person under seventeen in subdivisions four through six, and in subdivisions seven through nine it reaches the same contact without consent where the lack of consent arises from a factor other than incapacity.

What the statute does not say matters too. It does not use the phrase “statutory rape,” and it does not treat age as the only path into Article 130. This page also does not state filing deadlines or standards of proof.

The Recent Restructure of Article 130

New York restructured Article 130 by L.2023 c.777. Two changes matter most when reading an age-based charge. The penetration-based term “sexual intercourse” was deleted, and § 130.00(1) now defines “vaginal sexual contact” as contact between the penis and the vagina or vulva, with no penetration element, alongside “oral sexual contact” and “anal sexual contact.” Each rape degree now carries parallel vaginal, oral and anal branches, so the same degree can be charged on any of the three forms of contact.

The former criminal sexual act degrees were repealed outright. They are not current New York law, and conduct once charged that way now falls within the parallel branches of the rape degrees. Older sources and forms may still describe the repealed structure, which is a reason to read the text of the section a charging document names.

On timing, be careful. The act states that it takes effect January 1, 2024, while the chapter was signed January 30, 2024, and that discrepancy is not resolved here from an official source. The safe statement is that the restructure is recent and that the date of the alleged conduct governs which version of the statute applies. An allegation predating the change and one postdating it can be read against different text.

Classification and Registration Consequences

Article 130 assigns a classification to each of these sections, and that is where the practical weight of a charge sits. Rape in the first degree, § 130.35, is a class B felony; rape in the second degree, § 130.30, a class D felony; rape in the third degree, § 130.25, a class E felony. Sexual abuse in the first degree, § 130.65, is a class D felony; sexual abuse in the second degree, § 130.60, a class A misdemeanor; sexual abuse in the third degree, § 130.55, a class B misdemeanor.

Two of these sections carry statutory affirmative defenses tied to the age gap. Section 130.30 provides an affirmative defense to subdivisions one, two and three where the defendant was less than four years older than the victim. Section 130.55 provides 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. Those defenses attach to those sections and are not general features of Article 130.

Registration is a separate scheme. Correction Law § 168-a supplies the definitions for New York’s sex offender registration provisions, and the sex offenses it lists include § 130.25, § 130.30 and § 130.60. Because that consequence is keyed to the section of conviction, the section named in a charging document carries weight beyond the sentence attached to the classification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New York have a statutory rape statute?

No statute carries that title. New York prosecutes age-based allegations under Article 130 of the Penal Law, using the rape degrees and the sexual abuse sections, with § 130.05 supplying the link to age. Search the Penal Law for the phrase itself and you will not find it, which is why charging documents name a section and a subdivision instead.

Which Penal Law sections cover age-based allegations?

Principally § 130.25, § 130.30 and § 130.35 for the rape degrees, and § 130.55, § 130.60 and § 130.65 for sexual abuse. Section 130.05 is the connecting provision, since it makes lack of consent an element of every Article 130 offense and, in subdivision three, deems persons under seventeen incapable of consent along with the other listed categories.

What does “vaginal sexual contact” mean under § 130.00?

Section 130.00(1) defines it as contact between the penis and the vagina or vulva, with no penetration element. It replaced the older penetration-based term “sexual intercourse” and stands alongside “oral sexual contact” and “anal sexual contact.” The absence of a penetration element is the significant part, because it changes what the prosecution must establish under each rape degree.

What happened to the criminal sexual act degrees?

They were repealed outright in the restructure and are no longer current New York law. Conduct once charged under those provisions now falls within the parallel oral and anal branches the rape degrees carry after the amendment. Documents or references still using the older labels should be checked against the text in force for the date of the alleged conduct.

How is rape in the third degree classified?

Section 130.25 is a class E felony. Subdivisions four through six reach an actor twenty-one or older who engages in vaginal, oral or anal sexual contact with a person under seventeen. Section 130.25 is also listed as a sex offense in Correction Law § 168-a, so classification is not the only consequence attached to it.

What do subdivisions seven through nine of § 130.25 cover?

They reach vaginal, oral or anal sexual contact without consent where the lack of consent arises from a factor other than incapacity. That makes them a non-age route into the same section. A charge under those subdivisions raises different factual questions than a charge under subdivisions four through six, though both sit in rape in the third degree.

Does an older allegation fall under the old law or the new law?

The date of the alleged conduct governs which version applies. The restructure is recent, and its effective date is stated in the act itself while the chapter bears a later signing date, a discrepancy this page does not resolve. For any specific matter, the section text in force on the alleged date is what should be read.

Which of these sections appear in Correction Law § 168-a?

The sex offenses defined there include § 130.25, § 130.30 and § 130.60. That definition drives New York’s registration provisions, so a conviction under one of those sections carries registration exposure in addition to the felony or misdemeanor classification the Penal Law assigns. Whether registration follows in a given matter depends on the rest of that scheme.

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 was founded in 1997. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle New York criminal defense matters, and in an age-based Article 130 case that work starts with the section and subdivision charged and the dates fixing both ages. The firm meets with clients by appointment at its locations and maintains 24/7 phone intake. Request a consultation with Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. at (888) 437-7747.

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.

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