State Veterans' Cemeteries - Interment
HB0364 expands Maryland’s child pornography laws by creating a new offense for knowingly possessing and intentionally retaining certain child sexual abuse material and for knowingly or intentionally accessing and intentionally viewing it. The bill applies to visual representations showing an actual child under 16, as well as computer-generated images that are indistinguishable from an actual and identifiable child, when the image depicts sadomasochistic abuse, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement. It also defines how images are counted for charging purposes and establishes enhanced penalties for possession of large quantities of images or images depicting very young children.
The bill also leaves existing prohibitions in place under Criminal Law §§ 11-207 and 11-208, while adding a new § 11-208.2 that increases penalties in two aggravating circumstances: possession or distribution-related violations involving 100 or more images, and violations involving any image of a minor under age 13. These offenses are punishable as felonies with up to 10 years’ imprisonment, and the bill specifies that these sentences may run consecutively or concurrently with other related crimes. The act is set to take effect October 1, 2025.
HB0364 would amend Maryland’s Criminal Law subtitle on child pornography by adding a new felony offense for possession and intentional viewing of prohibited images, including certain computer-generated depictions, and by creating sentencing enhancements based on image quantity and the age of the depicted minor. It would broaden enforcement tools for prosecutors and law enforcement, clarify counting rules for still images and videos, and preserve a narrow parental exception for nude images of a parent’s own child that do not depict sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a public-safety and child-protection measure with an enforcement-oriented approach. The overall sentiment is likely supportive of stronger penalties for child sexual abuse material, especially for large-volume possession and images involving younger children. No contrary viewpoints are documented in the supplied context.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s expansion from possession to intentional viewing, the inclusion of computer-generated images that are indistinguishable from real children, and the enhanced penalties tied to image counts and the age of the depicted minor. Civil-liberties or evidentiary concerns could arise over how “indistinguishable” images are defined, how images are counted, and whether the new felony thresholds are proportionate. The bill text itself does not include recorded opposition, amendments, or committee debate, so specific advocates or critics are not identified in the provided materials.