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Committee hears DOJ-backed bill to criminalize online grooming and AI-generated child exploitation
Summary
House Bill 82, requested by the Department of Justice, would create specific offenses for online grooming, add AI-generated exploitation to statutes, and permit undercover officers to stand in for children in online investigations; prosecutors and investigators urged passage while committee members raised questions about penalties and enforcement capacity.
Representative Kathy Love (House District 85) opened testimony on House Bill 82, which the Department of Justice brought to the Legislature to address online grooming, sextortion and the emergence of AI tools that can fabricate exploitative child images. Love told the committee the measure creates specific offenses for online grooming, expands law enforcement tools and establishes penalties for digital exploitation.
Alex Sturhan, director of external affairs for the Department of Justice, and Selene Koepke, an assistant attorney general in prosecution services, said the bill closes gaps that hamper timely intervention. Koepke explained a key change: the bill clarifies that a…
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