Penal Law § 255.30

Adultery and incest; corroboration · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 255.30 Adultery and incest; corroboration.

1. A person shall not be convicted of adultery or of an attempt to commit adultery solely upon the testimony of the other party to the adulterous act or attempted act, unsupported by other evidence tending to establish that the defendant attempted to engage with the other party in sexual intercourse, and that the defendant or the other party had a living spouse at the time of the adulterous act or attempted act.

2. A person shall not be convicted of incest or of an attempt to commit incest solely upon the testimony of the other party unsupported by other evidence tending to establish that the defendant married the other party, or that the defendant was a relative of the other party of a kind specified in section 255.25.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/255.30

In plain English

(1) A person cannot be convicted of adultery or attempt solely on the other participant’s testimony without other evidence tending to show attempted intercourse and that either participant then had a living spouse.
(2) A person cannot be convicted of incest or attempt solely on the other participant’s testimony without other evidence tending to show marriage or one of the relationships named in § 255.25. ★

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.