Substitution of children · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 135.55 Substitution of children.
A person is guilty of substitution of children when, having been temporarily entrusted with a child less than one year old and intending to deceive a parent, guardian or other lawful custodian of such child, he substitutes, produces or returns to such parent, guardian or custodian a child other than the one entrusted.
Substitution of children is a class E felony.
A person commits substitution of children by returning or producing a different child after being temporarily entrusted with a child under 1 year old, intending to deceive that child’s parent, guardian, or lawful custodian. ★ 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.
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.