Sexting. Sexting, or the sending of sexually explicit photos by electronic means such as text message, may constitute a criminal act pursuant to New Jersey’s child pornography laws. For instance, it is a crime to give to someone else, offer to give to someone else, transfer, disseminate, distribute, circulate, or possess pornography depicting a child, defined as a person younger than 18 (N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4). Penalties for violating such laws include not only significant time in prison but also mandatory registration as sex offenders. Significantly, New Jersey has created an alternative to criminal prosecution for teens charged with child pornography as a result of sexting (N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-71.1). If the court deems it appropriate, these teens may be ordered to participate in an educational program or counseling in lieu of prosecution. Both the creator and subject of the sexting image must be younger than 18 to be eligible for this program.
Appears in 7 contracts
Samples: Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement, Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement, Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement
