Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Bagolie
SYNOPSIS
Creates crime of incest
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act creating the crime of incest and supplementing chapter 24 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. An actor is guilty of incest, a crime of the third degree, if the actor marries or enters into a civil union, or commits an act of sexual penetration, with the actors ancestor or descendant, the actors sibling, a sibling of the actors parent, or a child of the actors sibling. The relationships referred to herein include blood relationships of the whole or half blood, without regard to legitimacy and relationship of parent and child by adoption.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a third degree crime of incest that may be prosecuted separately from or in addition to other sexual offenses, such as sexual assault (N.J.S.2C:14-2) or endangering the welfare of children (N.J.S.2C:24-4). Under current law, the crime of sexual assault does not apply to incestuous acts between consenting adults.
Under the bill, a person commits the crime of incest if the person marries or commits an act of sexual penetration with a persons ancestor or descendant, a sibling, a sibling of the persons parent (i.e., aunt or uncle), or a child of the persons sibling (i.e., niece or nephew). These relationships enumerated in the bill would include blood relationships of the whole or half blood, without regard to legitimacy or relationship of parent and child by adoption.
A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.
Incest was previously a crime under State law, N.J.S.A.2A:114-1 and 2A:114-2, but those laws were repealed by P.L.1978, c.95.