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S U P P O R T
S-748 Saland/A-2012 Paulin
Section 235.22 of the penal law has provided an unintended loophole for sexual predators. The
courts have sometimes interpreted the word “depicted” to mean only graphic images, whereas this amendment would also
include sexually graphic text intended for minors.
- A 14-year-old upstate New York girl went on MySpace last year looking for new friends, but she ended up being
raped by two young men who stalked the site looking for easy prey, her lawyer says.1
- About 13% of online youth (10 to 17 years old) reported having received a sexual solicitation or approach over
the internet.2
- According to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children there were more than 2,600 incidents last year of
adults using the Internet to entice children.
- 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages.3
It is therefore necessary that the penal law be clearly defined and current with a technology that can be so readily
abused in this age of e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging and social networking websites.
The Senate has already passed the bill and we urge the immediate passage in the Assembly.
1. Michelle Caruso, Daily News, January 19, 2007.
2. David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later.
Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2006, page 29.
3. Pew Study reported in JAMA 2001
5-21-07
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