Senate adopts committee amendments tightening penalties for child sexual abuse material offenses
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Senators adopted Judiciary Committee amendments to S723 to increase penalties and clarify registration requirements for offenses involving child sexual abuse material; further amendments added enhanced minimum sentences for repeat registrants and the bill moved forward by voice vote.
The Judiciary Committee presented a committee amendment to S723, a bill addressing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The committee amendment increased sentencing ranges and clarified registration requirements for offenders.
Senator from Berkeley, explaining the committee amendment, said it raised first-degree exposure penalties and lengthened the minimum custody terms for serious offenses. The amendment also created tiered penalties tied to the number of images or items possessed by a defendant and preserved registration requirements for persons convicted under various degrees. "The committee amendment increased the penalties from 3 years to 5 years on the first degree, and then 3 years from 2 years on the second degree," the sponsor explained on the floor.
Senator from Edgefield and others offered and moved additional amendments to impose enhanced minimum sentences for offenders who were already required to register as sex-offenders at the time of the new offense; those amendments were adopted by voice vote. Senators pressed sponsors about whether penalties were reduced in any degree and received clarification on minimum mandatory terms.
After debate and adoption of committee and floor amendments, the Senate recorded that S723 received a second reading of the Senate by a unanimous recorded vote of 44 to 0.
Attributable quote from the transcript: "It did what it does is just like you said...the third degree must still serve as a minimum of 5 years in prison and cannot be suspended," a senator explained on the floor.