Can You Be Charged For Cheating on Spouse By New York State Law

Thou shalt not covet...

An assembly member wants to decriminalize something that many in New York state would never have thought was actually criminal to begin with.

And while most would agree it is not necessarily a moral act to engage in, some feel that the state has no business being involved.

Nassau County's Lavine Wants Removal of “Archaic” Piece of Law

WIVT reports that Assemblymember Charles Lavine, from the state’s 13th Assembly District in Nassau County, wants to decriminalize adultery in New York state.

According to Badanes Law Office, adultery is still a crime in New York state.

Penal Law 255.17 states that a person is guilty of adultery when "he/she engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he/she has a living spouse".

Adultery is classified as a Class B misdemeanor, according to Badanes Law. According to Tilem & Associates, PC, adultery is crime that carries with it the maximum penalty of up to three months imprisonment and a $500 fine.

But is it really enforced?

According to Assemblymember Lavine's testimony, only thirteen people in New York have been charged with adultery since 1972, and only five were ever convicted. Levine says that in "virtually every one of those cases", there was already another crime involved.

Levine says one of the reasons for his proposed bill, would be to prevent a prosecuting attorney from adding adultery as an additional charge to other already existing charges.

Levine further argued, "this outdated statute criminalizes sexual behavior between consenting adults."

Who Was the Last Person Charged With Adultery in New York?

According to ABC News, the thirteenth (and last) person to actually be charged with adultery in New York was a married woman from Batavia, who was allegedly caught with another man at a public playground in 2010.

However, the adultery charge against her was eventually dropped after she admitted to public lewdness, reports The Batavian.