Politics & Government

State Senate Votes Unanimously for Tougher Child Pornography Penalties

Under current law, the strongest penalty for possession of child pornography is only three years in prison. This bill would raise the potential sentence to seven years.

The California State Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to approve tougher penalties for possession of child pornography through Senate Bill 145 by Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) and Assemblymember Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo). 

Under current law, the strongest penalty for possession of child pornography is only three years in prison. This bill would raise the potential sentence to seven years, according to a Patch report.

"California has the nation’s weakest laws in this area, and SB 145 would change that by raising the maximum penalty for possession of child pornography," according to a statement from Pavley's office. It continues:

"The bill focuses on the worst of the worst offenders: those with huge collections of child pornography, those with images of children forced to endure sexual sadism or masochism, and those who use images to groom children to participate in this horrible crime."

“This legislation aligns California’s penalties more closely with those of other states,” Pavley said. 

“Victims of child pornography suffer lifelong consequences from this tragic crime.  This bill focuses on the most extreme cases and targets predators who fuel further sexual abuse with images of their crimes,” she said.

The bill was sponsored by Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten with support from the California District Attorneys Association.


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