State Senate Passes Child Porn Prevention Measure

The State Senate passed a bill designed to prevent child porn Monday.

The legislation, which still requires approval from the State Assembly, would widen the definition of child porn to cover all victims under the age of 18 and create more severe penalties for possession and distribution with mandatory prison sentences, according to a release from Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic), the bill's primary sponsor.

It would also make file sharing on peer-to-peer networks count as distribution instead of possession, impose lifelong parole for convicted offenders and prevent a possession conviction from being expunged from an offender’s record.

“This legislature has the duty to pass one of the most important initiatives in state history — to protect children from the most dangerous predators and destroy a rapidly proliferating industry that ruins lives,” O'Toole said.

The bill (S-2493) was created by O'Toole and the Attorney General's Office. It was cosponsored by Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Donald Norcross.

“There is no greater, more important task than protecting the safety and well-being of our children,” Sweeney said. “By increasing and revising the penalties for those who would seek to do physical and mental harm to kids, we are providing enhanced protections for children.”