Laws Pertaining to Sexting in the State of New York
Anyone who creates, distributes or possesses an image of a 
minor engaged in a sexually explicit act may be prosecuted under the State of New York’s child pornography laws and if convicted, will generally need to register as a sex offender. In June of 2011, legislators proposed a new law that would address teenage sexting. In general, the law would allow first time offenders to avoid jail time and there would not be a requirement to register as a sex offender.
Legislative Summary
Currently, there is no specific statute in the State of New York that addresses sexting. Therefore any individual that is caught with or transferring an image of a minor engaged in a sexual act would be subject to prosecution under the State’s child pornography statute. New York legislators have previously proposed legislation that would call for counselling, and educational programs to help combat the sexting epidemic, but as of yet, no proposal has been successfully signed into law. However, legislators have recently proposed a bill that would allow courts to send first time offenders to mandatory educational classes if the court deems a lack of intent to commit a crime. The bill, if passed, would apply to teenager 18 or younger.
Law and Punishment
In general, under New York law it is a felony to:
- Knowingly use a minor in a sexually explicit performance.
- Promote material that contains a child under the age of 17 engaging in a sexually explicit act, or
- Possess material that contains a child under the age of 16 engaging in a sexual act.
If convicted, jail sentences could range from 2 to 15 years and will generally need to register as a sex offender.
sobering reality
Charged with a felony crime.
Up to 15 years in jail.
Register as a sex offender.
Latest News Concerning Sexting in New York
NY Daily News | June 15, 2012
WHAM ABC 13 | June 13, 2012
Gothamist | May 29, 2012
WHEC News 10 | April 20, 2012
Midhudsonnews.com | April 20, 2012
WHAM ABC 13 | April 19, 2012
WHAM ABC 13 | March 28, 2012
Hudson Valley News | March 26, 2012
Fox 7 | March 13, 2012
WHAM | February 24, 2012
WIVB | February 5, 2012
Huffington Post | December 19, 2011
NY Post | December 18, 2011
ABC 13 WHAM | November 21, 2011
Times Union | October 14, 2011
Syracuse.com | September 13, 2011
Livingston County News | July 27, 2011
Mail Online | July 19, 2011
The Examiner | July 9, 2011
WGRZ NBC 2 | July 7, 2011
The Queens Gazette | June 15, 2011
WETM NBC 18 | June 15, 2011
NY Convergence | June 10, 2011
Wall Street Journal | June 6, 2011
The Post-Standard | June 3, 2011
The Gothanist | May 22, 2011
WIBV Channel 4 | May 21, 2011
NBC NY | May 19, 2011
CNYCentral.com | May 5, 2011
ABC 9 WSYR | May 5, 2011
WETM NBC 18 | May 3, 2011
The Leader Corning | April 29, 2011
Syracuse.com | April 20, 2011
The Leader Corning | April 21, 2011
Clipper Today | April 20, 2011
Syracuse.com | April 15, 2011
CBS New York | February 19, 2011
WALB | September 30, 2010
YNN Rochester | July 6, 2010
Huffington Post | June 21, 2010
NBC New York | April 8, 2009
WKBW | March 22, 2009
Observer-Dispatch | March 1, 2009
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