Coercion in the third degree · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 135.60 Coercion in the third degree.
A person is guilty of coercion in the third degree when he or she compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from engaging in, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which he or she has a legal right to engage, or compels or induces a person to join a group, organization or criminal enterprise which such latter person has a right to abstain from joining, or compels or induces a person to produce, disseminate, or otherwise display an image or images depicting nudity of such person or depicting such person engaged in sexual conduct as defined in subdivisions two and three of section 235.20 of this chapter, by means of instilling in him or her a fear that, if the demand is not complied with, the actor or another will:
1. Cause physical injury to a person; or
2. Cause damage to property; or
3. Engage in other conduct constituting a crime; or
4. Accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against him or her; or
5. Expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true or false, tending to subject some person to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or
6. Cause a strike, boycott or other collective labor group action injurious to some person's business; except that such a threat shall not be deemed coercive when the act or omission compelled is for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act; or
7. Testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or
8. Use or abuse his or her position as a public servant by performing some act within or related to his or her official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely; or
9. Perform any other act which would not in itself materially benefit the actor but which is calculated to harm another person materially with respect to his or her health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation or personal relationships.
10. Report his or her immigration status or suspected immigration status.
Coercion in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.
A person commits third-degree coercion by compelling or inducing someone to do what they have a legal right not to do, to refrain from what they have a legal right to do, to join a group, organization, or criminal enterprise they have a right not to join, or to produce, share, or display nude or sexual images of themselves (sexual conduct as defined in section 235.20(2)–(3)), by instilling fear that, if the demand is refused, the actor or another will:
Coercion in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor. ★
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.