Source: utahnewsdispatch.com 2/24/25
A Utah state senator said the Utah Attorney General’s Office, under the leadership of Sean Reyes, used lawmakers as “pawns” to advocate for increased penalties for certain sex crimes, which critics argue would lead to more people being convicted of first-degree felonies.
The comment came on Friday morning from Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, during a Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee meeting where lawmakers were considering a bill that makes a number of tweaks to the state criminal code regarding sex crimes involving children.
Sponsored by Sen. Karen Kwan, D-Taylorsville, SB144 passed out of the committee after a 5-2 vote, with Weiler and Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, voting “no.”
Senate Minority Whip Karen Kwan, D-West Valley City, listens during a press conference with Democratic senators at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Weiler’s opposition, he told the committee, in part stems from a controversial provision in the bill that would increase the penalty for someone involved in the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material — also referred to as child pornography — from a second-degree felony, to a first-degree penalty.
Under current law, distributing or producing child sexual abuse material is a second-degree felony unless the victim is under 14 years old. In that case, the perpetrator can be charged with a first-degree felony. Kwan’s bill would eliminate that carveout, enhancing the penalty across the board.
Assistant Attorney General Carl Holland, who presented the bill with Kwan, described a situation where a group of men filmed the rape of a 15-year-old girl. The man convicted of filming and distributing the video faced the same criminal penalty as someone who “simply downloaded pictures of some stranger online.”
“But that filming and distribution caused a different magnitude of harm that this victim is going to have to deal with for the rest of their life,” Holland said. “Distribution is different. Distribution does not permit victims to heal.”
First-degree felonies are reserved for the most serious crimes, like murder, rape or child kidnapping, and critics of the bill worry about putting the distribution of child sexual abuse material on the same plane. Plus, the bill changes the language in existing code so someone who downloads child sexual abuse material — possibly on accident — but doesn’t view it, could still be hit with a first-degree felony.