What's happening
This bill creates an affirmative legal defense for minors under 18 engaged in consensual sexting with a small age difference.
Why it matters
Shields minors close in age from serious criminal charges. The bill provides an affirmative defense for youths under 18 who engage in consensual sexting with someone less than four years apart in age, potentially preventing them from being prosecuted under harsh child pornography or obscenity laws.
Limits protection to truly consensual and non-exploitative cases. The defense is only available if both parties agreed (expressly or implicitly), the images were not obtained through unlawful surveillance, and there was no intent to profit, ensuring that exploitative or coercive situations remain prosecutable.
Prevents life-altering legal consequences for typical teen behavior. By carving out this defense, the legislation recognizes the difference between consensual peer behavior and predatory or exploitative acts, which can help teens avoid sex offender registration and other severe legal penalties that can arise from current laws.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Teens in Sexting Cases
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Teen Sexting Defense Added
In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Toby Ann Stavisky
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1454
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating an affirmative defense in certain cases involving sexting by persons under the age of
18
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 40.20 to read as follows: § 40.20 Certain acts by a young person.
In any prosecution pursuant to section 235.21 or 235.22 or section 263.10, 263.11, 263.15 or 263.16 of this chapter, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant was less than eighteen years old, and that there is a less than four year age difference between the defendant and the recipient at the time of the act, and the depiction or description was not obtained in violation of section 250.45 or 250.50 of this chapter, and both the defendant and the recipient expressly or impliedly acquiesced in the conduct, and the defendant did not intend to or profit from such conduct.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04379-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.