Crimes: minors.
SB 1015
California Bills
20250SB__101597AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-10 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-09 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-06-24 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Strickland LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Strickland
An act to add
Section 288.6 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes. crimes Crimes: minors. Existing law makes every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, as specified, with intent to commit certain offenses, including any lewd or lascivious act, involving the minor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, as provided.
This bill would make any adult person who recruits, induces, coerces, or persuades a minor to commit an illegal act against another minor, or to solicit physical harm, sexual conduct, or images of an intimate body part, from another minor, or who utilizes a minor as a conduit of communication to facilitate any such acts guilty of a crime punishable either as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law defines extortion as the obtaining of property or other consideration from another, with their consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right.
Existing law excludes from this provision a person under years of age who has obtained consideration consisting of sexual conduct or an image of an intimate body part.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would except from that exclusion cases where the minor has knowingly threatened, intimidated, or coerced another minor to engage in any sexual conduct or obtain an image of an intimate body part from another minor, including an image of an intimate body part that is produced by artificial intelligence and depicts the identity of another minor.
By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.</xhtml:p>"?> The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Protecting Our Children from Online Extortion Act.”
SEC.
Section 288.6 is added to the Penal Code , to read: 288.6. (
a) Any adult person who, via any method of communication, recruits, induces, coerces, or persuades a minor to commit an illegal act against another minor, or to solicit physical harm, sexual conduct, or images of an intimate body part, from another minor, or who utilizes a minor as a conduit of communication to facilitate any of the foregoing is guilty of a crime, punishable by imprisonment in county jail for one year, or by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, or pursuant to subdivision (
h) of
Section 1170. (
b) For the purposes of this
section the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Conduit of communication” means a minor whose digital identity or physical presence is used as a medium to transmit, relay, or facilitate the delivery of communications to another minor for the purposes of engaging in the conduct described in subdivision (a). (2) “Intimate body part” has the same meaning as in subparagraph (
C) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (
j) of
Section 647. (3) “Sexual conduct” has the same meaning as in
Section 311.3. <caml:Num>SEC. 3.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:PEN:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'PART'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'1.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'13.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'7.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'518.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Penal Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_357D62CB-324F-4F17-BD70-E64B56ED04C5"><caml:Num>518.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_40A5DCDB-0D40-43FA-8936-C53EB63C2A49"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Extortion is the obtaining of property or other consideration from another, with their consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For purposes of this chapter, “consideration” means anything of value, including, but not limited to, sexual conduct as defined in
Section 311.3, or an image of an intimate body part as defined in subparagraph (
C) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (
j) of
Section 647.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Except as provided in paragraph (2), this
section does not apply to a person under years of age who has obtained consideration consisting of sexual conduct or an image of an intimate body part.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Paragraph (1) does not apply in cases where the minor has knowingly threatened, intimidated, or coerced another minor to engage in any sexual conduct or obtain an image of an intimate body part from another minor, including an image of an intimate body part that is produced by artificial intelligence and depicts the identity of another minor.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>When this paragraph applies, a person who commits
an act in violation of this section, if eligible, shall be referred to services pursuant to
Section of the Welfare and Institutions Code. If ineligible, the offense shall be punished as a misdemeanor.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(C)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For the purposes of this subdivision, “artificial intelligence” has the same meaning as in
Section 311.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of