SACRAMENTO — A measure that would make it illegal to post images of minors on pornographic websites without their consent was approved Tuesday by the California Public Safety Committee.
Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, drafted measure AB2104 in response to the discovery that photos of high school water polo players from around Southern California had been posted on gay porn sites. The bill makes the posting of such photos on "obscene" websites a crime punishable by up to one year in county jail and up to $5,000 in fines.
Smyth told the Orange County Register that the images precipitating the bill presented the potential for both psychological and material harm to the young men pictured, as the schools they attended were often visible in the photos.
"It is easy to find them and poses a serious threat to the athlete as well," Smyth said.
The bill will next be heard by the Appropriations Committee.
