Gov. Spencer Cox has signed into law a legislative proposal by state Sen. Chris Wilson (R-Logan) increasing criminal penalties for the production and distribution of child pornography.
SALT LAKE CITY – Ignored amid the uproar over a gubernatorial veto of a controversial ban on transgender athletes in girls’ high school sports, Gov. Spencer Cox signed 64 legislative proposals into law late Tuesday afternoon.
Among the legislation earning his blessing was Senate Bill 167 Sexual Exploitation Amendments, introduced by Sen. Chris Wilson (R-Logan).
That law will now increase penalties for producers and distributors of child pornography, making those crimes a first-degree felony.
At a meeting of the Cache Chamber of Commerce on Mar. 15, Cache County Executive David N. Zook crowed that SB 167 would ensure that the producers of child pornography would now face criminal penalties as serious as those assigned to convicted murderers.
Zook was part of a team of Cache Valley figures who collaborated to bring about that penalty enhancement after a convicted local pornographer got off with a “slap on the wrist” sentence in court.
Despite what he calls an “alarming” increase in demand for child pornography, Wilson explained that Utah laws had previously considered the production and distribution of such material to be a second-degree felony, an offense no more serious than viewing child pornography.
Conviction on a second-degree felony charge often leads to a sentence averaging only 180 days, the Utah senator adds.
Wilson and local prosecutors believed, however, that production and distribution of child pornography should be considered a more serious offense because those crimes lead to “increased victimization of and sexual violence against innocent children.” Moreover, those children are often re-victimized by continued distribution of that material.
Local officials joined forces to tighten Utah’s pornography laws after a recent joint effort by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and Cache County prosecutors apprehended a predator here and the convicted perpetrator received only a 60-day jail sentence.
Zook credited Cache County Attorney John Luthy along with local prosecutors Jacob Gordon and Dane Murray with drafting the initial text of S.B. 167.
Wilson introduced the draft legislation in the Utah Senate and recruited allies at the Capitol to provide political support. Gordon and Murray also provided what Zook called “heart-wrenching” testimony before the Legislature.
“Staff from Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office were also instrumental in making this legislation happen,” according to Zook.
Wilson added that the final version of his bill approved by Cox will single out producers and distributors of child pornography for first-degree felony prosecution, hopefully reducing the supply of that hateful material at its source.
In addition to increasing penalties for exploitation, SB 167 directs the state’s sentencing commission to study penalties associated with child exploitation and make recommendations for additional action to be taken in the 2023 legislative general session.
SB 167 is expected to take effect in early May, 60 days after the closure of the 2022 general session of the Legislature.