SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 2652
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MARCH 7, 2024
The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably
Senate Bill No. 2652.
As reported by the committee, this bill updates terminology in
statutory law pertaining to the sexual exploitation or abuse of
children. Current State law prohibits the creation, manufacture,
distribution, sale or viewing of child pornography. Among child
protection advocates, however, terms such as “child sexual abuse
material” and “child sexual exploitation material” have come into
wider use, replacing the general description of “child pornography,”
because these terms more accurately reflect the suffering of the
children who are victims of these crimes. When used in the context
of depictions of children, the term “pornography” may be
understood to legitimize or trivialize the sexual abuse or
exploitation of those children. In addition, the term “pornography”
carries with it the implication that the acts are performed with the
consent of the child, and represent legitimate sexual material.
This bill replaces the term “child pornography” with the term
“trade in child sexual abuse or exploitation material” in Title 2A.
In Title 2C, the definition of “item depicting the sexual exploitation
or abuse of a child” is amended to include “child sexual abuse or
exploitation material” and the acronym “CSAEM.”
The bill replaces the term “child pornography” with “network to
share child sexual abuse or exploitation material” in various
sections of Title 2C concerning the definition, degrees of crime,
examination referrals, registration of sex offenders, and special
sentencing for parole supervision for life for a leader of a network
distributing depictions of child sexual abuse or exploitation.
The bill further clarifies that online distribution or possession of
sexual abuse or exploitation material is to be included in the
schedule of penalties pertaining to offenses involving computer
criminal activity in Title 2C.
In Title 9, the term “pornography” is replaced with “any crime
involving child sexual abuse or exploitation material” concerning
disqualification of employment pursuant to N.J.S.9:3-40.5.
In Title 18A, the term “pornography” is replaced with the term
“child sexual abuse or exploitation material” with regard to the
practice of “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit messages
pursuant to N.J.S.18A:35-4.32. 2
This bill replaces the term “pornography” in various parts of
Title 30 with “any crime involving child sexual abuse or
exploitation material” in the statutes concerning revocation of a day
care center’s registration, criteria for permanent disqualification
from employment, disqualification from adopting a child or being a
resource family parent, and disqualification of employment at, or
ownership or sponsorship of, a child day care center.
In Title 52, the term “pornography” is replaced with “online
distribution or possession of child sexual abuse or exploitation
material” in the statutes concerning the Department of Law and
Public Safety’s efforts to receive and respond to inquiries or
complaints from members of the public reporting computer crimes
pursuant to N.J.S.52:17B-193.
This bill also updates the terminology used in current law to
replace outdated references to certain crimes that involve the sexual
exploitation or abuse of children. According to the sponsor, the
changes made in this bill are not intended, nor should they be
construed, to have any substantive impact on the applicability of the
affected provisions; the changes are intended to render the
terminology consistent with the rest of the current statutory scheme
and the broader international trend. The bill also corrects technical
inconsistencies in the statutes.