Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

sex offender

I would like to know a little more on aiding and abetting. recently a conviction was made for a mother who was charged with aiding and abetting the rape of her 13 yr old daughter and her friend by two men, aged 18,19. The mother pled guilty to 10 counts 2 felonies of rape 2 for not paying attention to her child and her friend,after the conviction the judge put on record that the case was merely that the mother could have not known the children were having sex and that there were no alarms to let her know that any of the children were in danager,and that it is merely a case of underage sex. My question is she now has to register a sex offender and some of those rules and regulations are very contradicting you can not be by a school within a 1000 feet but you can walk a neighborhood with children playing outside? Your not allowed in a mall but your allowed in target or walmart or kmart where many and I mean many women have underage children with them,you cannot be in the presence of a child under 18 but you can be on a checkout line for over 20 mins in there presence. I just don't get it. Even thou she pled guilty is there anyway to overturn this conviction?


Asked on 12/07/05, 8:36 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Nitzberg Andrew Nitzberg & Associates

Re: sex offender

You have not accurately indicated the facts of the case. 'Not paying attention to her child' is not a cognizable crime. Child neglect is not a criminal offense.

The woman was apparently guilty of 'reckless' behavior. Recklessness can take the place of 'intent' and 'knowledge' in the criminal law.

That means that she was guilty in assisting in the rape of her own child.

The talk about 'Target' versus a 'mall' is something that is between her and her parole officer. If she does not like the terms of the parole, the only alternative is to serve out the complete sentence and then be free of all such restrictions.

In addition, the judge seems to disagree with the charges. The judge's duty, if he/she is sincere and a responsible judge, is to dismiss the charges if they are nonsense instead of accepting the plea of guilty. Its easy to second guess the district attorney, but bear in mind that the judge does not have all of the facts in front of him/her while the DA should have all of them. The judge's notations have no legal consequence.

If she pled to 'conspiracy' rather than 'aiding', then she would not have to register as a sex offender. The DA had other options but felt having her register as a sex offender was in the best interests of the community and the 'aiding' assists ACS in removing the child from the mother.

These cases are always a problem. But the DA was probably right. If the child were 16, we would be more likely to agree.

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Answered on 12/07/05, 2:03 pm


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