In addition to rape, the New York Penal Code has a variety of crimes relating to sexual touching of both adults and children. “Criminal sexual act” is the New York term for forced oral or anal contact—what used to be known as forced sodomy or “deviate sexual intercourse.” Another New York term, “aggravated sexual abuse” refers to forced sexual touching with a foreign object. “Sexual Assault” constitutes sexually-motivated touching that falls short of sodomy, criminal sexual act, or aggravated sex abuse. A relatively recent statute, criminalizing “forcible touching,” was added after high-profile incidents at the Puerto Rico Day Parade in which women were allegedly forcibly touched in a degrading manner.
All of these are serious crimes: punishment varies based on many factors such as how long the contact takes place, the age of the victim, the degree of injury caused and the circumstances of the crime. Most (but not all) of these lesser sex crimes trigger sex offender registration. False accusations of sex assault or sexual abuse are quite common, particularly in domestic disputes and custody battles. A false accusation of sexual assault can be devastating. Penalties frequently include prison time and sex offender registration. If you have been accused of sexual abuse or forced touching, it is essential to contact a criminal defense attorney right away. An experienced sex crimes attorney may be able to help you avoid conviction of an offense that requires sex offender registration.