Makes it aggravated sexual assault or sexual contact for transportation network company or taxicab driver to commit act of sexual penetration or sexual contact using coercion or without permission on passenger.

A2021

ASSEMBLY, No. 2021

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Makes it aggravated sexual assault or sexual contact
for transportation network company or taxicab driver to commit act of sexual
penetration or sexual contact using coercion or without permission on
passenger.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning certain crimes and amending N.J.S.2C:14-2
and N.J.S.2C:14-3.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� N.J.S.2C:14-2 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 2C:14-2.���� Sexual assault.
a. An actor is guilty of aggravated sexual assault if the actor commits an act
of sexual penetration with another person under any one of the following
circumstances:

���� (1)� The victim is less than
13 years old;

���� (2)� The victim is at least 13
but less than 16 years old; and

���� (a)�� The actor is related to
the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree, or

���� (b)� The actor has supervisory
or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor's legal,
professional, or occupational status, or

���� (c)�� The actor is a resource
family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;

���� (3)� The act is committed
during the commission, or attempted commission, whether alone or with one or
more other persons, of robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, homicide, aggravated
assault on the victim or a person other than the victim, burglary, arson, or criminal
escape;

���� (4)� The actor is armed with a
weapon or any object fashioned in such a manner as to lead the victim to
reasonably believe it to be a weapon and threatens by word or gesture to use
the weapon or object;

���� (5)� The actor is aided or
abetted by one or more other persons and the actor commits the act using
coercion or without the victim�s affirmative and freely-given permission;

���� (6)� The actor commits the act
using coercion or without the victim�s affirmative and freely-given permission
and severe personal injury is sustained by the victim;

���� (7)� The victim, at the time
of sexual penetration, is one whom the actor knew or should have known was:

���� (a)�� physically helpless or
incapacitated;

���� (b)� intellectually or
mentally incapacitated; or

���� (c)�� had a mental disease or
defect which rendered the victim temporarily or permanently incapable of
understanding the distinctively sexual nature of the conduct, including, but
not limited to, being incapable of providing consent, or incapable of
understanding or exercising the right to refuse to engage in the conduct
;

����
(8)� The actor is a
transportation network company driver or a taxicab driver and commits the act using
coercion or without the victim�s affirmative and freely-given permission and
the victim is any passenger.��

����
Transportation network
company driver has the meaning set forth in section 2 of P.L.2017, c.26
(C.39:5H-2)
.
�

���� Aggravated sexual assault is a
crime of the first degree.

���� Except as otherwise provided
in subsection d. of this section, a person convicted under paragraph (1) of
this subsection shall be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be
fixed by the court and shall be between 25 years and life imprisonment of which
the person shall serve 25 years before being eligible for parole, unless a
longer term of parole ineligibility is otherwise provided pursuant to this
Title.

���� b.��� An actor is guilty of
sexual assault if the actor commits an act of sexual contact with a victim who
is less than 13 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the
victim.

���� c.��� An actor is guilty of
sexual assault if the actor commits an act of sexual penetration with another
person under any one of the following circumstances:

���� (1)� The actor commits the act
using coercion or without the victim�s affirmative and freely-given permission,
but the victim does not sustain severe personal injury;

���� (2)� The victim is on
probation or parole, or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution
and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue
of the actor's legal, professional or occupational status;

���� (3)� The victim is at least 16
but less than 18 years old and:

���� (a)�� The actor is related to
the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree; or

���� (b)� The actor has supervisory
or disciplinary power of any nature or in any capacity over the victim; or

���� (c)�� The actor is a resource
family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;

���� (4)� The victim is at least 13
but less than 16 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the
victim;

���� (5)� The victim is a pupil at
least 18 but less than 22 years old and has not received a high school diploma
and the actor is a teaching staff member or substitute teacher, school bus
driver, other school employee, contracted service provider, or volunteer and
the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power of any nature or in any
capacity over the victim. As used in this paragraph, "teaching staff
member" has the meaning set forth in N.J.S.18A:1-1.

���� Sexual assault is a crime of
the second degree.

���� d.��� Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection a. of this section, where a defendant is charged with
a violation under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, the
prosecutor, in consideration of the interests of the victim, may offer a
negotiated plea agreement in which the defendant would be sentenced to a
specific term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years, during which the
defendant shall not be eligible for parole.� In such event, the court may
accept the negotiated plea agreement and upon such conviction shall impose the
term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility as provided for in the
plea agreement, and may not impose a lesser term of imprisonment or parole or a
lesser period of parole ineligibility than that expressly provided in the plea
agreement. The Attorney General shall develop guidelines to ensure the uniform
exercise of discretion in making determinations regarding a negotiated
reduction in the term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility set
forth in subsection a. of this section.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.474, s.1)

���� 2.��� N.J.S.2C:14-3 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 2C:14-3. Criminal sexual
contact.

���� a.��� An actor is guilty of
aggravated criminal sexual contact if he commits an act of sexual contact with
the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in 2C:14-2a. (2) through
[
(7)
]
(8)
.

���� Aggravated criminal sexual
contact is a crime of the third degree.

���� b.��� An actor is guilty of
criminal sexual contact if he commits an act of sexual contact with the victim
under any of the circumstances set forth in section 2C:14-2c. (1) through (5).

���� Criminal sexual contact is a
crime of the fourth degree.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.108, s.2)

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill provides that if a
transportation network company driver or a taxicab driver commits an act of
sexual penetration or sexual contact using coercion or without the victim�s
affirmative and freely-given permission and the victim is a passenger, the
driver is guilty of the crime of aggravated sexual assault.� If the driver
commits an act of sexual contact under these circumstances, the driver is
guilty of aggravated sexual contact.� Aggravated sexual assault is a crime of
the first degree, which is punishable by 10-20 years imprisonment, up to a
$200,000 fine, or both.� Aggravated criminal sexual contact is a crime of the
third degree, which is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, up to a
$15,000 fine, or both.

���� A �transportation network
company driver� is defined in the bill as having the same meaning as provided
in section 2 of P.L.2017, c.26 (C.39:5H-2).