Bill > SB328

This bill amends Arkansas law concerning computer crimes against minors by raising the age threshold from seventeen to eighteen years old in three key sections of the state code. Specifically, the bill changes the definition of a "child" to mean any person under eighteen years of age (instead of seventeen), modifies the affirmative defense for prosecutions involving sexually explicit content to require a reasonable belief that the person depicted is eighteen or older, and adjusts provisions for determining a person's age in cases involving sexually explicit images or content. The bill also makes a procedural change requiring (rather than allowing) the trier of fact (judge or jury) to determine a person's age through methods like personal inspection, examining images, or testimony about the person's appearance. These changes effectively strengthen legal protections for minors by extending the protective age range and making it slightly harder to claim a mistaken belief about a person's age as a defense in cases involving sexually explicit content of minors.