Penal Law § 130.53

Persistent sexual abuse  ·  as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 130.53 Persistent sexual abuse.

A person is guilty of persistent sexual abuse when he or she commits the crime of forcible touching, as defined in section 130.52 of this article, sexual abuse in the third degree, as defined in section 130.55 of this article, or sexual abuse in the second degree, as defined in section 130.60 of this article, and, within the previous ten year period, excluding any time during which such person was incarcerated for any reason, has been convicted two or more times, in separate criminal transactions for which sentence was imposed on separate occasions, of forcible touching, as defined in section 130.52 of this article, sexual abuse in the third degree as defined in section 130.55 of this article, sexual abuse in the second degree, as defined in section 130.60 of this article, or any offense defined in this article, of which the commission or attempted commission thereof is a felony.

Persistent sexual abuse is a class E felony.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/130.53

In plain English

A person commits persistent sexual abuse by committing forcible touching, third-degree sexual abuse, or second-degree sexual abuse after 2 or more separate convictions and separately imposed sentences within the previous 10 years for those offenses or an article 130 felony or attempt. ★ Time spent incarcerated does not count toward the 10-year period. It is a class E felony.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.