Bill > S2763

Introduced Session

The bill would expand the jurisdiction of the statute concerning endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.2C:24-4. Under the bill, the statute would apply to situations where a person having a legal duty of care or having assumed responsibility for the care of a child in New Jersey engages in sexual conduct with that child in a jurisdiction other than New Jersey. Currently, N.J.S.2C:24-4 makes it a crime of the second degree if a person having the legal duty for the care of a child or having assumed responsibility for the care of a child "engages in sexual conduct which would impair or debauch the morals of a child." A crime of the second degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 10 years, a fine of $150,000 or both. This bill is in response to State v. Sumulikoski, 221 N.J. 93 (2015), where the New Jersey Supreme Court held that New Jersey courts did not have jurisdiction to prosecute New Jersey school officials who were chaperones on a school trip to Germany and allegedly engaged in sexual conduct in Germany with students from the school. By adding the proposed language to the statute, it is the sponsor's intent to make it clear that N.J.S.2C:24-4, endangering the welfare of a child, applies to sexual conduct with a child that takes place within and outside of New Jersey under these circumstances. Thus, this bill would confer jurisdiction to New Jersey courts in cases similar to State v. Sumulikoski. In addition, the bill is intended to be consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-3 concerning territorial jurisdiction in criminal cases. The statute provides that a person may be convicted in New Jersey if "the offense is based on a statute of this State which expressly prohibits conduct outside of the State, when the conduct bears a reasonable relation to an interest of this State." (See: paragraph (6) of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:1-3). In the view of the sponsor, there can be no question that New Jersey has a significant interest in ensuring that children for whom an adult has assumed a duty or responsibility of care in New Jersey are subject to prosecution for unlawful sexual conduct, no matter where the sexual conduct occurs.

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Gordon Johnson (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document