House Unanimously Approves Bill Introduced by Rep. Callahan

Hartford– The House has unanimously passed a bill Representative Patrick Callahan (R-108) introduced to establish the crime of Harmful Communication With a Minor.

HB 6737 would ensure predators who are purposely targeting children with harmful intent can now be brought to justice with the creation of a new Class A misdemeanor.

” Having served for 30 years as an Adult Probation Officer and Chief Probation Officer supervising sex offender groups, I want to note that this addresses a loophole that was allowing adults to talk online with minors, who may not have self-confidence, gain their trust, and turn that conversation into one of a sexual nature. They would then blackmail minors into exchanging pictures or meeting in person and escalating the online contact to a personal contact,” said Callahan.

Anyone who is age 25 or older is guilty of this crime when the person uses an interactive computer service or text message to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a “minor” (i.e., anyone under age 18 or whom the actor reasonably believes to be under age 18) to do the following:

1. share a photographic or recorded image of the minor (a) for sexual gratification of the person who requests the image or (b) which the requestor then disseminates to one or more third persons for their sexual gratification or
2. engage in any communication (a) that is part of a pattern of communication or behavior designed to form or maintain an inappropriate relationship with the minor or (b) that is “harmful to the minor” (i.e., patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole regarding what is a suitable form of communication between an adult and a minor).

Last year, Callahan was part of a bipartisan group of legislators to craft a bill protecting minors from online abuse and exploitation. It passed in the House unanimously last year as well but was never called for a vote in the Senate.

For it to become law, the Senate must act before the end of the current legislative session.