Assemblymember Patricia A.

Fahy
109
th
Assembly District Albany, Bethlehem, Guilderland, New Scotland

For Immediate Release

June 12, 2014

N.Y. STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES PUBLIC LEWDNESS
PENALTY LEGISLATION

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 12, 2014) --- The New York State Legislature has passed legislation that will
increase penalties and charges for those who commit acts of public lewdness in front of minors and
repeat offenders.

The legislation (A.8196/S.5957) passed the Assembly on Monday, Feb. 10 and the Senate on Thursday,
June 12. The bill awaits the Governors signature.

The bill was co-sponsored by Assemblymembers Patricia Fahy (D-Albany), John T. McDonald III (D-
Cohoes), and Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn) in the Assembly, in addition to Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten
Island) in the Senate.

With this legislation, penalties will be elevated for indecent exposure to a Class A misdemeanor for
those who commit these heinous acts in front of minors or are repeated offenders. With the bill now in
Governor Cuomos hands, my hope is that this legislation once enacted will serve as a deterrent for
the reoccurrence of this kind of depravity, said Assemblymember Fahy.

Fahy also said that the legislation came as a result of recent incidents by a repeat offender in September
2013 who had been arrested for committing multiple acts of public lewdness, including the final incident
in the presence of two Albany middle school children. The individual was repeatedly arrested for re-
offending and released on his own recognizance only to recommit lewd acts upon release.

Surprisingly, Public Lewdness is only a class B misdemeanor, and provides no additional penalties if
the act is committed against a child or when an individual is repeatedly arrested on the charges, said
Senator Lanza.

Perpetrators of public lewdness often have a long history of such acts and other sex crimes, and in
many cases go on to commit even more serious sex offenses. This legislation increases the penalties for
these vile acts and aims to stop these offenders before they can do more serious harm, Lanza continued.

The legislation creates a new charge of Public Lewdness in the first degree, elevating what had been a
Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor for individuals 19 years old and above who
intentionally expose a private or intimate body part in the presence of a child under the age of 16, and to
increase penalties on repeat offenders who have been convicted of Public Lewdness within the previous
year. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to a year in jail or three years probation.

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