New legislation in the Ohio Senate aims to introduce major changes to the state’s current laws targeting child sex offenders.
Senate Bill 393, backed by Ohio Sens. Jane Timken (R-Jackson Twp.) and Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), would raise penalties depending on victims’ ages and the volume of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) found in an offender’s possession. The bill would also classify artificially generated CSAM as a felony and provide prosecutors with expanded options for addressing sexting and other sexual interactions involving minors.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee received testimony from supporters of S.B. 393, including child sex abuse survivor Chris Graham.
“Shame is the weapon these men use,” Graham said. “Artificial intelligence presents a new frontier in weaponizing shame against children. These are not photographs of actual abuse events, these are fabrications. But for the child whose likeness is stolen, the trauma is real, the shame is real, and the fear of exposure is very real.”
Although 45 other states have already enacted laws that criminalize AI-generated CSAM, Ohio prosecutors have voiced frustration over unclear state laws on the issue. Alaina Hagans, an assistant prosecutor for Cuyahoga County, told the committee, “Defendants increasingly attempt to evade accountability by claiming the material is not real.”
Lou Tobin, executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, pointed to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children showing more than 4,000 reports of artificially generated CSAM in 2023. By 2024, that number had surged to 67,000.
“There’s a real level of frustration,” Timken said. “You have parents of children who are very concerned about this possibility, you have frustration on the part of prosecutors who feel they, they can’t appropriately charge these people.”
Under S.B. 393, individuals who use AI to create CSAM could face mandatory prison sentences, with added penalties based on the victim’s age and the volume of illegal material in their possession.
The bill also aims to tackle the growing issue of teenagers using AI and deepfake technology to generate nude, obscene, or sexual images of their peers. If approved, it would allow prosecutors to charge teenage offenders with a misdemeanor when a felony charge is deemed excessive.
“I am so glad I am not a teenager,” Timken said. “There have been some instances where young teenagers have been caught up in this and are facing felony prosecutions for sending sexual images to each other. However, there’s still provisions that can allow for the prosecutor to charge appropriately if it’s a different situation.”
Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she plans to closely monitor that provision, raising concerns about “some of the cultural problems that are unfortunately attached to discretion.”
“Whether or not some children will be treated differently than other children based on race, culture, what have you,” Hicks-Hudson said.
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