"An Act relating to unlawful exploitation of a minor."

A major area of child victimization is the sexual exploitation of children, which includes child pornography. CS HB 334 (RLS) Unlawful Exploitation of a Minor will increase the criminal penalty for AS 11.41.455 Unlawful Exploitation of a Minor to a class A felony for a person who has previously been convicted of this crime. Also, the criminal penalty for AS 11.61.125 Distribution of Child Pornography is raised to a class A felony for a person who has previously been convicted of this crime.

Photographs, videotapes, films, and magazines of children in sexual poses and sexual acts make up a multimillion-dollar world of child pornography. Child pornographers and pedophiles come from all walks of life. Pedophiles will use the child pornography they have collected to seduce other children into participating in sexual activities with them; proliferating sexually abusive behaviors and attitudes.

The sexual exploitation of a child has multiple victims and the effects can extend through a child's or adolescent's psychological, sociological, and behavioral development into adulthood. Child pornography places the children depicted in harmful situations including the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, rape, assault, and torture. The production and distribution of explicit sexual material depicting children and adolescents warrants a severe criminal penalty.

Child pornography has devastating effects on children, both on those who are exploited in the actual pictures and those who view it. The production of explicit sexual material involving children is sexual abuse. It becomes the permanent record of sexual abuse. The criminal penalty for the Unlawful Exploitation of a Minor and Distribution of Child Pornography should be the utmost stringent and severe for repeat offenders.

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