Provides that certain crimes relative to child sexual abuse materials do not apply to persons under 17 under certain circumstances. (8/1/26)

Senate Bill 134 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:81.1 by adding a new subsection that creates a narrow exception to child sexual abuse materials offenses for minors under age seventeen. The bill establishes that when a person under seventeen years old would otherwise violate the state's prohibitions on producing, promoting, advertising, distributing, or possessing child sexual abuse materials, the alternative statutory provisions governing "sexting" offenses under R.S. 14:81.1.1 shall apply instead. This exception does not apply if the minor committed the offense with intent to obtain anything of value or to secure a privilege or advantage, meaning minors who engage in the prohibited conduct for monetary gain or personal benefit remain subject to the full weight of child sexual abuse materials statutes. The measure becomes effective August 1, 2026.

The practical effect of this legislation is to decriminalize certain conduct by minors that would otherwise constitute felony offenses under child sexual abuse materials law. Minors under seventeen who produce, distribute, or possess sexually explicit images or videos of themselves or other minors without commercial motivation will now face potential prosecution under the less severe sexting statutes rather than the more serious child sexual abuse materials offenses. This shift provides meaningful relief to adolescents engaged in consensual peer-to-peer transmission of intimate images, commonly called sexting. However, minors who exploit such conduct commercially—by selling images, extorting others, or accepting payment or favors—remain subject to the full criminal penalties associated with child sexual abuse materials offenses, as do all persons age seventeen and older.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's existing statutory framework governing crimes of public morality and child protection. The sexting statute under R.S. 14:81.1.1 currently prohibits minors from knowingly transmitting indecent visual depictions of themselves and from possessing or transmitting indecent depictions sent by other minors, but applies lesser penalties than the full child sexual abuse materials statute. The bill creates a prosecutorial safety valve that diverts certain minor offenders from the more severe felony tracking system into this alternative framework, effectively treating age-based consensual conduct differently from commercial exploitation or adult predatory behavior. The constitutional considerations underlying this approach reflect the legislative judgment that minors warrant differentiated treatment from adults and that certain conduct among peers, absent commercial elements, should not trigger the most severe criminal consequences.