House Unanimously Adopts Amendment to Protect Minors;

Peterson Pleased with Bipartisan Support

Boston – Representative George Peterson is pleased the Massachusetts House of Representatives today unanimously adopted a bipartisan amendment that if signed into law would provide greater protection to minors.

While taking up An Act Punishing Assault and Battery by Means of a Bodily Substance upon Correction Facility Employees, Representative Peterson was one of the dozens of co-sponsors who supported the amendment.  It was offered in response to the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling made on February 5th.   The SJC ruled in favor of a child predator that had been sending sexually explicit content through online communications.

The amendment will expand the statute by prohibiting the dissemination of harmful material to a minor via instant messaging or other online communications.

The Grafton lawmaker supported legislation a couple weeks ago because he was concerned that the state’s statute under which the defendant was convicted had not been updated to reflect society’s current electronic age.

After an examination of the statute and its legislative history, the Court stated that the Legislature must take action if it wanted to ensure that our children are protected from predators seeking to electronically disseminate obscene material to minors.

“With the Supreme Court saying that the Legislature needed to be more specific with our protection of minors, it is great to see that we could act so quickly,” stated Representative Peterson. “It is great to know that our minors have an added level of protection now through this amendment.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for approval.

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