Photo courtesy of State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34)
Editors Note: The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.
State legislators were joined by sexual assault survivors and the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Albany’s State Capitol, where calls were renewed to close gaps in State law that may currently protect rapists from being held accountable for their crimes. The gap relates to cases when rape and sexual assault survivors are intoxicated to a degree that renders them temporarily incapacitated and therefore unable to give consent.
The latest efforts come as legislators say new data shows a decline in rape convictions, despite consistently high report rates. The coalition, made up of advocates and faith leaders, renewed calls for the passage of Bills S.54-A / A.101-A, after prior attempts over seven years, failed in the assembly. As previously reported, The Bronx has one of the highest rates of sexual assault relative to its population.
Source and Image courtesy of the NYPD
According to State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34) and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), the main bill sponsors, and as previously reported, under current laws, lack of consent is recognized only when intoxication is involuntary, such as when a survivor is unknowingly drugged. However, survivors who may have become voluntarily incapacitated are excluded from such legal protections.
They said this forces prosecutors to drop or downgrade charges against potential rapists, leaving survivors without a path to justice. The original bill, sponsored by former State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), who gave up her seat to run for Congress but was ultimately unsuccessful, passed in the Senate, as have other iterations of it under Fernandez, who succeeded Biaggi in S.D. 34. However, it did not pass in the Assembly. Biaggi had also sponsored other legislation around the topic of sexual assault.
Source: The Office of the Bronx District Attorney courtesy of Microsoft Power BI
Participants at the rally on Jan. 15 emphasized that New York cannot continue to tolerate a gap in the law that denies survivors accountability. With support from a strong majority of the legislature, law enforcement officials, and community advocates, the speakers underscored the urgency of advancing what they said was critical legislation to the governor’s desk.
They included “Minister Peace,” co-chair of the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition, and other members of the Coalition, including Sue Dodell, an attorney, who, as reported, attended the court proceedings for two former, off-duty NYPD officers who were sentenced in Bronx Criminal Court on Friday, Jan. 9, for the sexual abuse of an intoxicated woman in 2023.
One of the defendants in the latest case is required to register as a sex offender and both were sentenced to probation and sex offender treatment programs as part of a plea agreement. The survivor delivered an emotional statement in court prior to sentencing.
Source and image courtesy of the NYPD
When asked by Norwood News about the composition of the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition, Dodell said, “Our coalition is an intersectional mix with members that hail from the following communities: Black, African, West Indian, Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Dominican, Asian, Indian, Jewish, White, Immigrant, and Mixed.”
She added, “In addition, several [organizations] that are part of the local, national, and international blend serve majority Black and brown communities across New York. Examples include the Kings and Queens Coalition, as well as VIP Mujeres [VIP Women] out of The Bronx, and Herunivercity out of Brooklyn. In addition, we have support from the LGBT community, via groups such as Brooklyn Pride Community Center and the Rise Above Justice Movement.”
Advocates for S.54-A / A.101-A say it modernizes New York’s sex crimes law by focusing on a survivor’s ability to consent rather than on how intoxication occurred. The bill clarifies that intoxication can never be used as a shield for predatory behavior when a reasonable person (sexual partner) would have known the survivor was incapacitated.
Source and image courtesy of the NYPD
Fernandez, who broadly represents the East Bronx and who, with Dinowitz, has held previous panel discussions in The Bronx on the bill, said, “Consent must be granted knowingly, willingly, and affirmatively. Anything less is not consent, and our laws must reflect that reality. S.54A/A.101-A ends the voluntary intoxication exclusion that has allowed predators to exploit intoxication as an invitation for sexual assault. This legislation has brought together a broad coalition of supporters, including 91 assemblymembers, 22 senators, law enforcement at both the City and State level, survivors, and advocates from across New York who agree that protection for survivors should never be conditional.”
The senator said the path forward was clear. “It is time to pass this bill through both chambers of the legislature and send it to the governor’s desk so New York can finally end the voluntary intoxication exclusion and strengthen justice for survivors.” She commended her colleagues who supported the bill, welcoming, in particular, the support of her male colleagues.
Meanwhile, Dinowitz, who broadly represents the Northwest Bronx, said, “It is unconscionable that in 2026, here in New York, whether or not a perpetrator is held accountable for committing sexual assault against a victim who is intoxicated hinges on how that person became intoxicated, whether from their own hand or from someone, who, unbeknownst to the victim, administered them a drug, intoxicant, or other substance, leaving them incapable of expressing a lack of consent.”
He added, ‘It is time to pass my bill A.101 to ensure that survivors get the justice they deserve by holding perpetrators of sexual violence accountable when they commit such heinous acts.” Those critical of Dinowitz, who, as reported, is being primaried this year by Morgan Evers, an educator and disability activist, allege he did not try hard enough to pass the bill in previous years.
During the press conference, however, though he did not name names, the assemblymember said skepticism in the assembly, in relation to the bill, has been from the more progressive wing of the Democratic conference, adding that some people were concerned the law would not be applied evenly. “The statistics show that, and we have the data to back it up, that the states who have similar laws, that this has worked incredibly well, that more people have received justice,” he said in part.
Image and source courtesy of the NYPD
Norwood News spoke to the assemblyman about this point later and asked if those concerns were in relation to the already high number of incarcerated young men of color in the country’s prison systems, and he said they were. He added that although it was a concern he understood, he also noted that young women of color (like all women) who may be survivors of rape, sexual assault or any crime, also deserve justice.
Last year, as reported, Dinowitz announced on April 30 that his draft bill (A.101) had crossed a major threshold by reaching 77 Democratic co-sponsors in the Assembly. He said the assent of a majority of the members (76 at that time) was required for the bill to pass.
Bronx Assembly Members Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86) and George Alvarez (A.D. 78), who broadly represent the center Bronx were also present at the latest press conference in support of the bill.
Source: NYPD
Meanwhile, during the press conference, Peace read out a statement from Christine Maxwell, a sexual assault survivor, saying, “I’m grateful to share today from afar. I’m so grateful for the grit and work that has [gone] into this fight. I am a survivor of sexual assault. I am a survivor, like many others I know, who was denied justice because I had a couple of cocktails of my own free will before I was assaulted.”
The statement continued, “I’m a survivor who was told by the SVU (Special Victims Unit) and multiple attorneys that because I was drinking, there was no way my case would have been in court despite having video evidence and a hair test that showed GHB, ruffies, and marajuana, neither of which I consume.” Peace added, “Her drink was spiked.”
Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a potent central nervous system depressant, commonly known as a date rape or club drug that is illegal to possess, manufacture or distribute in most jurisdictions without a prescription. “Ruffies” (often spelled roofies) is a common nickname for Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), a powerful sedative drug often associated with date rape.
Source: NYPD
The statement continued, “I am a survivor who has spent years untangling what I was told by SVU, law enforcement, and hospital staff to get to the truth. What happened was not my fault. I was a survivor who, like many, felt like I was screaming but no sound was coming out. I was a victim once, and I was a victim again, and this time in a justice system that I believed was there to protect me.”
The statement continued, “It is a time that our City stops failing survivors of sexual assault, We are a city that prides ourselves on being progressive and setting an example for the watching world stage, but in this, we are failing. It is past time to close the loophole. There is no acceptable excuse for preventing survivors from having a chance at justice. I am honored to join the voices and lifting up their message that all survivors deserve justice.”
As reported, a majority of women when under the influence of alcohol are more likely to be raped, according to data made available since 2004 in a study published by the National College of Medicine, which found that roughly one in 20 women surveyed reported being raped, and nearly three quarters of the victims were raped while intoxicated.
Source: NYPD
Peace also said, “Intoxication is not consent. The Voluntary Intoxication Exclusion Act recognizes that the intentional predatory action of those who sexually assault someone heavily under the influence is a crime here in New York.”
He continued, “More than half the country has laws that recognize this already. Over 75% of New Yorkers polled in a recent Siena Poll agree this should be the law here. When we look at the data, we find a horrifying truth. Currently 95% of rapists get away with it. NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services stats from the last 10 years show this clearly. We can do better. We deserve better. It’s time, New York. Let’s lose the exclusion.”
When it comes to rape conviction rates, Norwood News reached out to the Office of the Bronx District Attorney (DA) and we were provided with some statistics which accompany this story. According to the Bronx DA’s office, the borough’s population of 1.5 million, based on the Census Bureau 5-year estimates (2018-2022), is broken down as Hispanic/Latino (57%), Black (29%), White (9%), Asian (4%), and other (2%).
Source: The Office of the Bronx District Attorney courtesy of Microsoft Power BI
Elsewhere, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., has said for years, the state’s laws failed to adequately protect New Yorkers who were too intoxicated to reasonably consent to sex. “It is long past time that New York addresses its voluntary intoxication loophole that creates an unjustly high bar to hold perpetrators of rape accountable,” he said. “I thank the advocates and legislators, especially State Senator Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who proudly stand with survivors and continue to push for this important legislation.”
The bill also has the support of State Senator Robert Jackson (S.D. 31), who represents parts of the West Bronx, among others.
Advocates emphasized that the legislation does not alter evidentiary standards or lower the burden of proof. Instead, it ensures that New York law reflects a fundamental principle: consent must be freely given, knowingly, and clearly, and responsibility must rest with the perpetrator, not the survivor.
Source: The Office of the Bronx District Attorney courtesy of Microsoft Power BI
They said S.54-A / A.101-A has passed the New York State Senate multiple times and is supported by district attorneys, survivors, advocates, and legal experts who argue that ending the voluntary intoxication exclusion is essential to restoring credibility, consistency, and fairness in the prosecution of sexual assault cases. Peace said, “They’re called for survivors for a reason.”
As reported, in other sex offense-related news, on Thursday, Jan. 22, Bronx Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Republican Rep. Laurel Lee (FL-15) and businesswoman and activist, Paris Hilton were joined by other advocates and elected representatives on Thursday, Jan. 22, in Washington D.C. as they called for the passage of the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), bipartisan legislation that would grant survivors the right to take civil action against those who knowingly produce, distribute, solicit and receive, or possess with the intent to distribute, nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries i.e. deep fake, pornographic AI images.
For more historical coverage of the bill, click here, and here.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.