Senate Gives Unanimous Approval to Bill Aimed at Computer Child Porn

The Senate voted 44-0 in support of a measure requiring individuals who discover computer child pornography to notify local police. Senator Glenn Coffee is author of Senate Bill 1091, which is primarily aimed at computer service technicians.

“This legislation is really no different from our existing laws requiring photo lab employees to report it to the police when they find pictures of child porn,” explained Senator Coffee, R-OKC.

“The point is the very existence of these images is evidence that a child has been abused. When these crimes go unchecked and child pornographers continue to profit from those who purchase and download such files, it only fuels the need to find new victims,” said Coffee.

The Senator pointed to the pervasiveness of child porn, noting the recent case of a Warr Acres man charged with more than 80 counts related to child pornography. Police said his computer contained thousands of sexually explicit images of girls as young as 8 or 9.

“It is obvious child pornography is a growing crime, due in large part to easy accessibility through the Internet. This bill is important because child pornography is a crime where there is always a victim,” said Coffee.

Senator Coffee said the Senate approved similar legislation last year, but it did not make it out of the House.

“We made some changes this year to address some of the concerns raised about people who may accidentally view child porn as the result of spam or a link that’s been sent to them directing the user to a child porn site,” said Coffee. “We’ve made it clear that the images be downloaded intentionally. That’s something computer experts can easily determine.”

SB 1091 now moves to the House for further consideration.