Sub. H.B. No. 355 Summary

• Prohibits persons under 19 years of age from creating, producing, distributing, or possessing sexually explicit digital material through telecommunications devices when not more than four years older than the minor depicted.

• Establishes mandatory sexting educational diversion programs in all courts (municipal, county, juvenile, and common pleas) that address legal consequences, non-legal consequences, cybersecurity risks, and bullying connections.

• Requires persons entering diversion programs to waive certain trial rights and tolling of statute of limitations; charges are dismissed upon successful program completion.

• Violations constitute a first-degree misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum sentence of 8 hours community service, unless the court determines different sentencing is in the interests of justice.

• Provides exemptions for creation or possession of material depicting oneself or one's spouse (if not subsequently distributed), one's child, or other children with parental consent for bona fide purposes.