LCO No. 3287 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5468
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 3287
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CRIME OF HARMFUL
COMMUNICATION WITH A MINOR.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Minor" means any person under eighteen years of age, or who 2
the actor reasonably believes to be under eighteen years of age; 3
(2) "Interactive computer service" has the same meaning as provided 4
in section 53a-90a of the general statutes; 5
(3) "Harmful to a minor" means communication with a minor by 6
means of an interactive computer device that is patently offensive to 7
prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to 8
what is a suitable form of communication between an adult and a minor; 9
and 10
(4) "Inappropriate relationship" means a relationship that is patently 11
offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole 12
with respect to what is a suitable relationship between an adult and a 13
LCO No. 3287 2 of 2
minor. 14
(b) A person, who is twenty-one years of age or older, is guilty of 15
harmful communication with a minor when such person uses an 16
interactive computer service to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or 17
coerce a minor, to: (1) Share a photographic or recorded image of the 18
minor for the purpose of providing sexual gratification to the person 19
who requests that the image be shared, (2) share a photographic or 20
recorded image of the minor, which the person who requests the image 21
then disseminates to one or more third persons for the purpose of 22
providing sexual gratification to such third persons, (3) engage in any 23
communication of a sexual nature with a minor, or that is harmful to a 24
minor, or (4) engage in any communication that is part of a pattern of 25
communication or behavior designed to form or main tain an 26
inappropriate relationship with a minor. 27
(c) Harmful communication with a minor is a class D felony. 28
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish the crime of harmful communication with a minor.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]