Amends and adds to existing law to provide that sexual exploitation of a child by certain electronic means shall be a misdemeanor in certain instances and a felony in certain instances and that proceedings shall fall under the Juvenile Corrections Act and to provide that a minor who receives content and reports it to certain persons shall not be guilty of a crime.
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD - Amends and adds to existing law to provide that sexual exploitation of a child by certain electronic means shall be a misdemeanor in certain instances and a felony in certain instances and that proceedings shall fall under the Juvenile Corrections Act and to provide that a minor who receives content and reports it to certain persons shall not be guilty of a crime.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The purpose of this legislation is to remove minors who self-produce and distribute sexually exploitive material (commonly known as "sexting") from statutes codified to target sexual predators, thereby eliminating the risk that "sexting" result in registry as a sex offender and reserving felony status for cases of repeated mass-distribution. The act also creates a clear differentiation between the act of the initial "sext" and the extortive behavior that often follows—to the great trauma of the original sender. The intent of the legislation is to create an environment where the sender of a "sext" feels more comfortable seeking help if he/she is being extorted by clearly declaring that, as an operation of law, the act of extortion is the greater evil.
HOW THEY VOTED
House Third Reading
YEA (70)
NAY (0)
Senate Third Reading
YEA (35)
NAY (0)
House Third Reading
YEA (67)
NAY (0)
ABSENT / NOT VOTING (3)
LATEST ACTION
April 8, 2016 Session Law Chapter 377 Effective: 07/01/2016
BILL INFO
- Session
- 2016
- Chamber
- house
- Status date
- Mar 25, 2016