SENATE, No. 720

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  RICHARD J. CODEY

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Broadens statute that criminalizes cyber-harassment of minor.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  

An Act concerning cyber-harassment and amending P.L.2013, c.272.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    Section 1 of P.L.2013, c.272 (C.2C:33-4.1) is amended to read as follows:

     1.    a.  A person commits the crime of cyber-harassment if, while making a communication in an online capacity via any electronic device or through a social networking site and with the purpose to harass another, the person:

     (1)   threatens to inflict injury or physical harm to any person or the property of any person;

     (2)   knowingly sends, posts, comments, requests, suggests, or proposes any lewd, indecent, or obscene material to or about a person with the intent to emotionally harm a reasonable person or place a reasonable person in fear of physical or emotional harm to his person; or

     (3)   threatens to commit any crime against the person or the person's property.

     b.    Cyber-harassment is a crime of the fourth degree, unless the person is [21] 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense and [impersonates a minor for the purpose of] engages in cyber-harassing a minor, in which case it is a crime of the third degree.

     c.     If a minor under the age of 16 is adjudicated delinquent for cyber-harassment, the court may order as a condition of the sentence that the minor, accompanied by a parent or guardian, complete, in a satisfactory manner, one or both of the following:

     (1)   a class or training program intended to reduce the tendency toward cyber-harassment behavior; or

     (2)   a class or training program intended to bring awareness to the dangers associated with cyber-harassment.

     d.    A parent or guardian who fails to comply with a condition imposed by the court pursuant to subsection c. of this section is a disorderly person and shall be fined not more than $25 for a first offense and not more than $100 for each subsequent offense.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.272, s.1)

 

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     Under current law, cyber-harassment is a crime of the third
degree if the offender is 21 or older at the time of the offense and impersonates a minor for the purpose of cyber-harassing a minor. This bill broadens the statute to provide that a person is guilty of this offense if the person is 18 or older and engages in cyber-harassing a minor. This bill eliminates the provision that a person must impersonate a minor in order to be guilty of the offense. A crime of the third degree is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.