Republican, Democrat Bills Would Ban Child Sex Dolls In Massachusetts

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2021/08/12/republican-democrat-bills-would-ban-child-sex-dolls-in-massachusetts/

A pair of bills on Beacon Hill aim to outlaw sex dolls that look like children, something used by pedophiles in many states around the country.

Proposals in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (H.3789) and Massachusetts Senate (SD.2716) (filed by state Representative Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington) and state Senator Joan Lovely (D-Salem), respectively) hope to make the Bay State the fourth state in the country to make such dolls illegal.

Sullivan’s bill defines a child sex doll as “an anatomically correct doll, mannequin or robot, with the features of, or with features that resemble those of, a minor, intended for use in sexual acts.” The bill would impose a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to five years for first-time offenders who knowingly use, possess, buy, sell, transport, deliver, or distribute a child sex doll in the commonwealth. It would also implement a fine of up to $10,000 or a prison sentence of up to 10 years for repeat offenders.

Lovely’s bill, which has a similar definition for child sex doll, would make it illegal to sell, lend, give away, distribute, transmit, show, transmute, possess, advertise, or intend to obtain/sell a child sex doll. It would also incarcerate the offender. A first-time offender would face either up to five years in a state prison or a sentence of up to two-and-a-half years in a jail/house of correction, or a fine between $1,000 and $10,000. Meanwhile, a serial offender caught three or more times would face at least 10 years in prison or a fine between $10,000 to $30,000.

Lovely’s proposal includes an exemption for “law enforcement officer, licensed physician, licensed psychologist, attorney or officer of the court who is in possession of such materials in the lawful performance of his official duty.”

Many child sex dolls are made in China, Hong Kong, and Japan and are shipped worldwide. They’re often “labeled as mannequins or models to avoid seizures by authorities,” according to The News & Observer.

So far, only Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee have made child sex dolls illegal, according to Florida Politics. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the bill into law in 2019; it received overwhelming bipartisan support.

Federally, it’s another Florida politician pushing for a ban on child sex dolls:  Republican U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan. His bill (H.R.73) is called the “Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots Act 2.0” (or the CREEPER Act).

“This is sickening and cannot be allowed to continue,” Buchanan told Florida Politics in 2019. “We need to enact a national ban on these obscene products that are known to encourage pedophilia and the exploitation of children.”

Sullivan and Lovely, the sponsors of the Massachusetts bills, could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

The bills have been referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary of the Massachusetts Legislature. No hearing date had been set as of mid-afternoon Wednesday, August 10.

 

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