Garden State Times

TRENTON, N.J. – Texting a lewd photo to someone without their consent could soon be a crime in New Jersey under a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Aura Dunn and passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Monday.

Assemblywoman Aura Dunn emphasized the need for the bill by stating, “Sexual harassment and indecent exposure have evolved with technology and that is what this bill aims to address. Texting unwanted pornographic photos has become too common and the perpetrators out there need to be deterred and face consequences for continuing their unsolicited advances and offenses.”

The bill, identified as A1939, treats the sending of unsolicited nude pictures like flashing or streaking by incorporating it under the lewdness criminal statutes. If passed, sending an unsolicited nude photo would become a disorderly persons offense, punishable by up to six months imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, or both. In cases where the sender knows or reasonably expects the photo to be observed by a child under 13, it would be considered a fourth-degree crime, punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Regarding the impact on victims, Dunn highlighted, “Young women are overwhelmingly the victims in these types of incidents and they need to be protected. In today’s digital world, they can be targeted, coerced, humiliated and harassed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This law would give them legal recourse.”

Assemblywoman Aura Dunn was also a key sponsor of a 2023 law that criminalized sexual extortion, a practice involving the theft of sexual images followed by threats of dissemination or coercion for explicit images or videos for blackmail purposes.