Ohio House bill seeks to help young 'sexting' offenders

Here is the text of HB 355, which made headlines during my trips out of town.

http://www.cleveland.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/ohio_house_bill_seeks_to_help.html

Ohio House bill seeks to help young 'sexting' offenders
Posted on September 21, 2017 at 5:04 PM
By Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com jpelzer@cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio--New legislation in the Ohio House of Representatives would explicitly ban "sexting" in the state by people younger than 21, though the bill's sponsor says it's designed to give young offenders a second chance.

House Bill 355, introduced Thursday, would require every county in Ohio to create a "sexting educational diversion program" for Ohioans under 21 convicted for the first time of sending sexually explicit material featuring minors. Many Ohio counties already have such programs, but some smaller counties do not.

State Rep. Brian Hill, a Zanesville Republican co-sponsoring the bill, noted that it's already illegal in Ohio to possess or send explicit photos of minors. But those accused of such an offense are currently charged with possession of child pornography or another sex crime, he said, and young people convicted of "sexting" for the first time shouldn't have to face the prospect of jail time or being permanently labeled a sex offender. He said there have been several cases, including one in his district, where teens arrested for sexting became so distraught they committed suicide.

"This gives kids an opportunity to not ruin their life for something they did that's really stupid," Hill said.

Currently, there's no definition of "sexting" in Ohio law. HB 355 would prohibit people in Ohio under 21 from creating, possessing, or sending sexually explicit material featuring a minor using a telecommunications device.

The bill creates several exceptions, including for people with explicit photos of themselves or their spouse (so long as they don't distribute the photos) and those who receive unsolicited photos and immediately delete them.