New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Tuesday extending what forms of forced sexual activity can be prosecuted as rape.
The New York governor updated the definition of rape to remove the penetration requirement from the state’s rape statutes days after the verdict was reached on the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial against former President Donald Trump, according to a press release from Hochul’s office.
“We are reassuring survivors that when they walk into a police station or approach the witness stand that the full weight of the law is behind them now going forward,” Hochul said. “Rape will be treated like the horrific crime that it is. The voices have been heard, and we affirm that justice will be served.”
Today we took action to reaffirm that the voices of survivors have been heard, and that the full weight of the law is behind them. pic.twitter.com/niGlupByWe
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) January 30, 2024
The “Rape is Rape” bill extended the definition of rape to include “vaginal sexual contact, oral sexual contact, and anal sexual contact.” The previous statute did not allow for oral and anal sexual activity to be classified as rape, and there was a “high standard” for vaginal sexual activity to be considered rape, the press release stated.
A jury awarded former Elle Magazine writer E. Jean Carroll a total of $83.3 million in damages Friday after Trump allegedly acted maliciously in his remarks about Carroll, according to Politico legal reporter Erica Orden. Carroll sued the former president for alleged defamatory statements he made about her in 2019 and for calling her a “whack job” during a CNN town hall in May 2023. (RELATED: MSNBC Analyst Defends Trump Attorney From ‘Deeply Misogynistic’ Attack On Her Breasts)
Carroll previously took Trump to court over allegations of rape, sexual battery and defamation. While not finding Trump liable for rape, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages and found Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation in May 2023.