Judiciary Chairman Clayton Hee, D-Kahuku, Kaneohe, said the committee will vote on a new draft of the bill that would only penalize adults who solicit pornographic images produced by minors. By TREENA SHAPIRO ADVERTISING Associated Press HONOLULU — Weaknesses in
By TREENA SHAPIRO
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Weaknesses in Hawaii’s child pornography laws would be strengthened to address possession of particularly violent or egregious images, under an effort in the Legislature.
According to state Attorney General David Louie, current laws do not distinguish between various forms of child pornography, so possession of any type is a Class C felony, subject to five years in prison.
“Child pornography is a permanent record of the actual sexual abuse and assault of innocent and helpless children. In this age of electronic communication and sharing of digital information — and the sexual exploitation of assault on which it is based — is a growing problem around the world,” Louie stated in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee on Tuesday advanced Senate Bill 2221, which extends the potential penalties for those found in possession of pornographic images that include children under age 12, or minors being subjected to sadomasochistic abuse or bestiality.
If the bill is enacted, possession of child pornography could become a Class B felony, doubling the current maximum prison term to 10 years.
Similar legislation has been passed in other jurisdictions, Louie said.
The Senate panel also held a hearing on Senate Bill 2222, which would create a “sexting” offense to stop adults from soliciting nude images from minors sent by computer, cellphone or another device capable of electronic transmission.
Decision-making on that bill has been deferred until Friday.
The attorney general’s office strongly supported this measure, noting that electronically transmitted images could be shared with many people instantaneously — with dissemination often beyond the control of the original sender.
Opponents of the legislation questioned whether minors should be penalized for sending the images or protected from exploitation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii does not condone sexting, but staff attorney Laurie Temple pointed out, “The purpose of child pornography laws is to protect children, not criminalize them for poor judgment.”
Temple also said the bill could be unconstitutional because it may criminalize expression protected by the First Amendment. Recently, the ACLU of Pennsylvania successfully defended teenagers charged with taking naked cellphone photos of themselves and sending them to male students.
Judiciary Chairman Clayton Hee, D-Kahuku, Kaneohe, said the committee will vote on a new draft of the bill that would only penalize adults who solicit pornographic images produced by minors.
