NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 130.85(1)(a)
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
The (specify) count is Female Genital Mutilation.
Under our law, a person is guilty of female genital mutilation when that person knowingly circumcises, excises, or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of another person who has not reached eighteen years of age.¹
The following term used in that definition has a special meaning:
A person KNOWINGLY circumcises, excises, or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of another person when that person is aware that he or she is doing so.²
Under our law, knowledge by the defendant of the age of the child is not an element of this crime, and it is not a defense to a prosecution for this crime that the defendant did not know the age of the child or believed such age to be eighteen or greater.³
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, the People are required to prove, from all of the evidence in the case, beyond a reasonable doubt, each of the following three elements:
1. That on or about (date) , in the county of (county), the defendant, (defendant's name), circumcised, excised, or infibulated the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of (specify).
2. That the defendant did so knowingly; and
3. That (specify) had not reached eighteen years of age.
If you find the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt each of those elements, you must find the defendant guilty of this crime.
If you find the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt any one or more of those elements, you must find the defendant not guilty of this crime.
History
Caption: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION Penal Law § 130.85(1)(a) (Committed on or after Nov. 1, 1997). Read from the committee's Word file. Prepared by the New York State Unified Court System Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, Model Colloquies, and Evidence Rules; published by the Unified Court System at nycourts.gov (the internet edition is the only current and official publication of CJI2d).
Provenance
- Source
- nycourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
aaf9004539dce7450f779bed097c37fe0c9b8bbf89806c6bcaccbd36454912be
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