House passes bill penalizing viewing of porn in schools

Youngsters who look at pornography on a school computer or bring pornography to school could be charged with a class B misdemeanor under a bill passed by the House on Thursday.

HB100 by Rep. Bud Bowman, R-Cedar City, aims to provide some kind of criminal penalty for actions that Bowman says are unfortunately becoming more and more common.

Porn in schools "is not a major problem now, but it is in society" where minors and adults alike can easily find nude pictures of men and women on the Internet.

Bowman said he doesn't see school officials expelling or suspending a teenager for looking at porn once or twice on a school computer. But for those cases where it happens time and again, police and juvenile authorities want the option of charging the teen.

An adult who deals in porn in a public school can be charged with a class A misdemeanor under HB100, which now goes to the Senate.

A class B misdemeanor carries a $1,000 fine and zero to six months in jail. A class A is a $2,500 fine and up to one year in jail.