N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(3) - the victim is at least 16 but less
than 18 years old; and
a. defendant is related to the victim by blood or
affinity to the third degree; or
b. defendant has supervisory or disciplinary power
over the victim; or
c. defendant is a foster parent, a guardian or stands in
loco parentis within the household.
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(4) - the victim is at least 13 but less
than 16 years old and defendant is at least four years older
than the victim. See State v. Smith, 279 N.J. Super. 131,
148 (App. Div. 1995) (although indictment did not charge
physical force or coercion, charges of aggravated assault
and attempted murder put defendant on notice that State
might try to prove physical force or coercion against the
victim during the sexual assault); State v. Rodriguez, 179
N.J. Super. 129, 133 (App. Div. 1981) (defendant’s guilty
plea to second degree sexual assault was proper even though
he claimed 13-year-old victim consented and he thought
she was 16 years old).
D. Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3a - a person is guilty of this offense if
he or she commits an act of sexual contact (as defined in
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1d) with the victim under any of the
circumstances set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a (2) through
(7). This is a crime of the third degree. See State v. Dixon,
125 N.J. 223, 257-58 (1991) (discovery gave defendant fair
notice of State’s theory that charge was based either on
defendant’s possession of a weapon or in the course of a
robbery); State v. Mosch, 214 N.J. Super. 457 (App. Div.
1986), certif. denied 107 N.J. 131 (1987) (defendant
convicted of third degree sexual contact committed in the
course of a burglary); State v. Ramos, 217 N.J. Super. 530
(App. Div. 1987) (defendant convicted of third degree
aggravated sexual contact and burglary).
E. Criminal Sexual Contact
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3b - a person is guilty of this offense if
he or she commits an act of sexual contact (as defined in
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1d) with the victim under any of the
circumstances set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c (1) through
(4). This is a crime of the fourth degree. See State v. Rush,
278 N.J. Super. 44 (App. Div. 1994) (defendant convicted
of fourth degree sexual contact after he snuck into victim’s
home and touched the skin of her buttocks and vagina
while she was asleep).
F. LewdnessN.J.S.A. 2C:14-4a - is a disorderly persons offense if
defendant commits “any flagrantly lewd and offensive act”
which he or she knows or reasonably expects a non-
consenting person to observe and to be “affronted or
alarmed” by the conduct.N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4b(1) - is a fourth degree offense if
defendant exposes his or her intimate parts for the purpose
of arousing or gratifying his or her sexual desire or the
sexual desire of any other person if defendant knows or
reasonably should know that the conduct is likely to be
observed by a child less than 13 years old; defendant must
be at least four years older than the child victim.N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4b(2) - is a fourth degree offense if
defendant exposes his or her intimate parts for the purpose
of arousing or gratifying his or her sexual desire or the
sexual desire of any other person if defendant knows or
reasonably should know that the conduct is likely to be
observed by a person who, because of mental disease or
defect, is unable to understand the sexual nature of
defendant’s conduct.N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4c - defines “lewd acts” as exposing of
defendant’s genitals for the purpose of arousing or
gratifying the sexual desire of defendant or another person.Generally speaking, lewdness involves more than
nudity. The critical element of this offense is that
defendant’s nudity must be motivated by his or her sexual
desire, and defendant’s sexually motivated nudity must be
observed by another person. See State v. Hackett, 323 N.J.
Super. 460, 474 (App. Div. 1999), N.J. app. pending
(defendant stood nude in his front window in full view of
children waiting for school bus for the purpose of arousing
his sexual desire).For a thorough discussion on the difference between
“sexual contact” and “lewdness,” see State v. Zeidell, 154
N.J. 417 (1998). Essentially, an actor’s touching himself,
knowing children could actually see the act, even though
no specific victim was targeted, was enough to constitute
assaultive behavior, and thus sexual contact, because the act
itself is “shocking and threatening to observe.” On the
other hand, merely exposing oneself without touching or
forcing a victim to touch is lewdness. Id. at 432-35;
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4a. See also State v. Ridgeway, 256 N.J.
Super. 202 (App. Div.) certif. denied 130 N.J. 18 (1992)
(defendant who called eleven year old girl over to his car
and masturbated in her presence guilty of sexual contact).