2. a. A person is guilty of residential burglary if, with purpose to commit an offense therein or thereon, the person:
(1) Enters a residential dwelling or accommodation, or a separately secured portion thereof, unless the actor is licensed or privileged to enter; or
(2) Surreptitiously remains in a residential dwelling or accommodation, or a separately secured portion thereof, knowing that the actor is not licensed or privileged to do so.
b. For the purposes of subsection a. of this section, it is not an element of the offense that the actor knew that any other person was present in the residential dwelling or accommodation when the actor entered or surreptitiously remained therein, and it shall not be a defense that the actor did not know that any other person was present in the residential dwelling or accommodation when the actor entered or surreptitiously remained therein.
c. Residential burglary is a crime of the second degree, subject to section 2 of P.L.1997, c.117 (C.2C:43-7.2), unless the actor demonstrates by a preponderance of evidence that the actor reasonably believed that no resident or any other person, other than a person acting in concert with the actor, was present in the residential dwelling or accommodation when the actor entered or surreptitiously remained therein, in which case the offense is a crime of the second degree, not subject to section 2 of P.L.1997, c.117 (C.2C:43-7.2).