Pol: Make ‘stealth’ condom sabotage a felony
ALBANY — Looking to address a practice known as “stealthing,” a Queens assemblyman wants to make it a felony to deliberately remove or tamper with a condom during sex without a partner’s consent.
A person convicted of stealthing could face up to four years in prison under the bill, set to be introduced by Assemblyman Francisco Moya.
According to the legislation, a person can be charged if he or she agrees to have sex on the condition that a protective device like a condom, diaphragm, dental dam or sponge is used and then the person intentionally removes or damages it without permission before or during the love-making.
“This is something we’ve been hearing about for quite some time across the country,” said Moya, a Democrat.
“We want to make sure we are protecting women and making sure this doesn’t become common practice.”
Removing or damaging a sexually protective device against a person’s will — even if the sex itself was consensual — can lead to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, Moya said.
With less than a month left in the legislative session, Moya is searching for a state Senate sponsor.
Wisconsin and California already have bills that stealthing.
Those supporting such legislation say stealthing is another form of rape or sexual assault.
The term stealthing was highlighted earlier this year after Alexandra Brodsky, who now works at National Women’s Law Center, wrote a report detailing the problem — and possible legal remedies — for the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.
It’s unclear in New York just how widespread the problem is. “From what we’ve seen and read from other states, it’s becoming common enough that we have to look for legislation that handles this issue before it becomes out of control,” Moya said.
It’s also unclear how difficult or easy it would be to prove a charge
of stealthing since would criminalize it would likely come down to a he said, she said situation.
“Like with any rape case, it would be on the prosecutors to determine what happens through the use of evidence and testimony,” Moya said.
Brodsky told the Daily News Wednesday that in some cases, people who have done it or been victimized have written about it online. In one case cited in her report, a person was texted by her assailant telling her what happened.
She said stealthing might already be illegal under New York criminal law, but said she’d like to see a civil remedy enacted.
“I hope legislators will consider replacing the bill or supplementing their bill with a civil option,” Brodsky said.
The District Attorneys Association of the State of New York had no comment on the Moya’s bill.