Sex trafficking of a child · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 230.34-a Sex trafficking of a child.
1. A person is guilty of sex trafficking of a child when he or she, being twenty-one years old or more, intentionally advances or profits from prostitution of another person and such person is a child less than eighteen years old. Knowledge by the defendant of the age of such child is not an element of this offense and it is not a defense to a prosecution therefor that the defendant did not know the age of the child or believed such age to be eighteen or over.
2. For purposes of this section:
(a) A person "advances prostitution" when, acting other than as a person in prostitution or as a patron thereof, and with intent to cause prostitution, he or she directly engages in conduct that facilitates an act or enterprise of prostitution.
(b) A person "profits from prostitution" when, acting other than as a person in prostitution receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services, and with intent to facilitate prostitution, he or she accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any person whereby he or she participates in the proceeds of prostitution activity.
Sex trafficking of a child is a class B felony.
A person 21 years old or older commits sex trafficking of a child by intentionally advancing or profiting from the prostitution of a child younger than 18 years. ★
The offense is a class B 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.