O'Toole Champions Harsher Child Pornography Laws

A proposed law passed by the state Senate Monday, March 18 sponsored by state Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic) will strengthen penalties for child pornographers, officials said.

The bill, also sponsored by Senate President Steven Sweeney and state Sen. Donald Norcross, would amend the “No Early Release Act” to raise child pornography charges from a second-degree crime to a first-degree crime, closes many of the loopholes and strengthens the current law, O’Toole said.

If signed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the law would force anyone convicted of child pornography charges to serve 85 percent of their time and protects children under the age the 18. Current law only protects children aged 16 and under, O’Toole said.

In the past these predators used peer-to-peer files, which only counts as possession and not distribution, said O'Toole. The new measure makes it easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to charge and convict for possession and distribution by establishing the use of child pornography file-sharing programs as a second-degree crime.

“This is one of the toughest state child porn laws in the country,” said O'Toole, a former three-time Cedar Grove mayor and life-long resident. “The statues are in line with what the federal government has done.”

O'Toole introduced the bill after reading an NJ.com exposé “depicting a rapid proliferation of child pornography,” he said.

According to the report, the FBI reviewed 14.2 million images depicting child-sex acts in 2010. In 2011, the same department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, reviewed more than 22 million images and videos, showing an increase of 55 percent.

“As a parent and public servant charged with protecting children and families, I am utterly repulsed by the expanding lengths predators will go to get their fixes by destroying vulnerable lives,” O’Toole said at the time.

“Our communities must be protected from the disgusting impulses of the most disturbing criminals, and that starts with the elimination of early release for those convicted of producing, sharing, storing and enabling the destruction of childhood innocence,” he said.

The new measure was launched by O’Toole in conjunction with the state Attorney General’s office and now awaits action in the state Assembly.

 “Our communities must be protected from the disgusting impulses of the most disturbing criminals, and that starts with the elimination of early release for those convicted of producing, sharing, storing and enabling the destruction of childhood innocence,” he said.

According to O'Toole's office, the measure:

• Broadens the coverage of child pornography laws to cover victims younger than 18 years of age; current law only covers those younger than 16 years of age.
• Upgrades causing a child to engage in pornography from a second-degree crime to a first-degree crime.
• Adds the crime of causing or engaging child pornography to the “No Early Release Act,” meaning a convict would have to serve at least 85 percent of his or her sentence to be eligible for release.
• Imposes a mandatory prison sentence for those convicted of distributing at least 25 images of child pornography; for a second or subsequent offense, it establishes an extended prison term (associated with first-degree penalties) with no chance of parole.
• Upgrades the crime of possession to a third-degree crime, from a fourth-degree crime, and imposes a mandatory prison sentence; for a second or subsequent offense, it establishes an extended prison term (associated with second-degree penalties) with no chance of parole.
• Makes peer-to-peer file sharing a distribution crime, as opposed to possession.
• Imposes parole supervision for life for those convicted of production and distribution of child pornography; it forces them to disclose any online accounts and passwords.
• Disallows a conviction for possessing child pornography from being expunged from an offender’s record, making all child pornography crimes are permanently on offenders’ records.