New York Assembly Bill A05170

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/12/25
• Refer: 2/12/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Establishes the crime of sexual abuse against a patient or client by a health care provider in the first and second degree; designates such crimes as being class B and E felonies, respectively.

Summary

This bill creates two new crimes in the Penal Law for sexual abuse committed by a health care provider or mental health care provider against a patient or client during diagnosis, counseling, or treatment. The bill defines a second-degree offense for sexual contact obtained through a false claim that the contact was for a bona fide medical purpose, and a first-degree offense for inducing sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct, or anal sexual conduct through the same kind of false medical representation. The bill makes clear that conduct performed for a valid medical purpose is not criminalized. It also sets the penalties at a class E felony for second-degree sexual abuse and a class B felony for first-degree sexual abuse, and it takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Impact

The bill would add two new sections, Penal Law sections 130.83 and 130.84, expanding New York’s criminal law to specifically address sexual exploitation by health care and mental health care providers in the treatment setting. It would create a distinct statutory basis for prosecution where consent is obtained through deception about medical necessity, supplementing existing sexual offense laws and providing clearer penalties for abuse of the provider-patient relationship.

Sentiment

The available record shows no committee transcript, vote tally, or recorded opposition, so there is no documented debate to gauge support or resistance. Based on the bill’s purpose and caption, it appears to be a targeted public-safety and patient-protection measure aimed at closing a gap in the Penal Law and addressing abuse of trust in clinical settings.

Contention

The main legal issue embedded in the bill is the line between legitimate medical treatment and criminal sexual conduct. The bill addresses that concern by excluding conduct performed for a valid medical purpose, but the need to prove a false representation of medical purpose could still be a point of evidentiary dispute in prosecutions. No specific legislators, advocates, or opponents are identified in the provided materials.