AN ACT Relating to offenses involving child sex dolls;
SB 5227 addresses offenses involving “child sex dolls” and related sexually explicit material depicting minors. The bill defines key terms such as child sex doll, digitization, fabricated depiction of an identifiable minor, live performance, and sexually explicit conduct, and it updates existing criminal statutes to include child sex dolls alongside visual or printed matter depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct. It also adds new criminal offenses for trafficking, manufacturing, sending or bringing into the state, and possessing child sex dolls, with each doll treated as a separate offense for charging purposes.
The bill further authorizes seizure and forfeiture of child sex dolls and related materials, including equipment and property used to manufacture or transport them, and establishes procedures for notice, hearings, and disposition of forfeited property. It also creates a fee for each conviction under the new section, with proceeds directed to the state’s children’s rescue fund. In addition, the bill amends Washington’s sentencing seriousness-level tables so the new child sex doll offenses are classified within the state’s felony sentencing framework, generally as Class B felonies.
SB 5227 would amend and expand Washington’s criminal code in chapter 9.68A RCW and related sentencing provisions to expressly criminalize child sex dolls and their trafficking, manufacture, importation, and possession. It would also broaden forfeiture authority to reach the dolls themselves, related depictions, and equipment used in production or transport, while creating a conviction fee dedicated to the children’s rescue fund. The bill affects prosecutors, law enforcement, courts, and anyone who manufactures, sells, distributes, imports, or possesses these items, and it integrates the new offenses into the state’s felony seriousness-level tables for sentencing.
The available voting history shows strong committee support: the Senate Committee on Law & Justice advanced the first substitute bill by a 9-0 vote. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate broader public arguments in the materials supplied. Based on the vote and the bill’s subject matter, the measure appears to have been received as a child-protection and enforcement bill with little visible opposition at the committee stage.
The main policy issues likely center on how broadly the bill defines child sex dolls and fabricated depictions, and whether those definitions could reach borderline materials involving digital alteration, AI-generated imagery, or other expressive content. Another point of potential contention is the bill’s forfeiture regime, which allows seizure of property used in connection with the offenses and directs proceeds to enforcement-related uses. Because no transcript was provided, specific objections from legislators, advocates, or affected industries are not documented in the supplied record.