Nevada AG asks committee to rename statutory term to 'child sexual abuse material' in AB 35

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard a presentation on Assembly Bill 35 from Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and the attorney general's office on the statutory language used for images depicting sexual abuse of children.

AG Ford introduced the measure and turned the floor over to Alyssa Engler, chief deputy attorney general for the criminal prosecution division, who told the committee AB 35 would revise Nevada law to better describe and criminalize images and videos that depict the sexual abuse of minors. Engler said the draft replaces the statute's current terminology with a phrase intended to reflect the criminal nature of such material and the harm to victims.

The change, the presenters said, is meant to distinguish between constitutionally protected adult sexual expression and images that depict minors and therefore cannot involve consent. Engler told the committee that other states and the U.S. Department of Justice have adopted similar language in recent years.

"Amending these statutory terms to [child sexual abuse material] is important to focus on the actual crime against children, to recognize the trauma inflicted upon children by these images and videos, and to underscore the absence of consent, control, and choice for these child victims," Engler said, describing the intent behind the language change.

Committee members did not pose questions during the brief presentation. The chair then opened public testimony and reported that there were no callers or in-person speakers in support, opposition or neutral; the committee closed the hearing on AB 35 without amendment or a vote recorded on the transcript.

Why this matters: changing statutory language would affect how prosecutors, defense counsel and courts describe and charge crimes involving generated or altered images of minors and could influence charging decisions, evidence presentation and public understanding of the offenses.

What the bill does (as presented): according to the attorney general's staff, AB 35 would (1) replace the statutory nomenclature used in Nevada Revised Statutes that currently describes sexually explicit images of minors with the term used nationally and federally by many prosecutors and the Department of Justice; and (2) explicitly capture images created or altered using artificial intelligence that depict minors and are not covered by current statutes. The presenters emphasized the change is intended to clarify that such images are crime-scene material and not constitutionally protected adult sexual expression.

Proponents and testimony: the presentation at the hearing came from the attorney general's office; no members of the public offered live support, opposition or neutral testimony at the hearing recorded in the transcript.

Next steps: the committee concluded its hearing on AB 35 and moved on to other bills. No committee action (vote or amendment) is shown in the transcript.