Rep Rebimbas: Sexting Law is Proactive

Representative Rosa C. Rebimbas (R-70) thanked her colleagues in the House early Sunday morning after they unanimously passed a sexting bill by a 137-0 margin.

Sexting, defined as possession and dissemination of nude or semi-nude images via an electronic device, has become more prevalent in recent years with the explosion of cell phone cameras and digital cameras.

“Sexting has become a very serious problem with our teens and young adults and the legislature showed today they recognize the implications of that type of behavior,” Rep. Rebimbas said.  “I’m proud the legislation I spearheaded will provide an alternative for minors in a consensual relationship who send such messages but leaves the stricter penalties in place for those who fall under those criteria.”

House Bill 5533, “An Act Concerning Sexting” creates a lesser category for punishment for minors who are thirteen years of age or older but under eighteen years of age, who may knowingly possess and transmit any visual depiction of nude or semi-nude images by means of an electronic communication device. State law currently treats possession of such images as child pornography.  Possession of child pornography is a felony and those convicted are forced to register as a sexual offender. This bill would make possession of such images a class A misdemeanor for teens between 13 and 18 years of age if the facts of the case determine it should be a lesser threshold.

“Today, Connecticut took a proactive role to both protect and teach our teens about the consequences of their decisions,” Rep. Rebimbas said.  “We did not wait for another tragic story in order to pass a good law.  Instead, we took the opportunity to update our penal code by incorporating electronic communication devices.”