2021 Legislative Update - Changes to Computer Aided Crimes Against Juveniles Laws

The Louisiana Legislature enacted a great number of new statutes and changes to the law during the 2021 Regular Session. For the next few weeks, we’ll be writing about some of the changes that might directly impact our clients in the future.

Effective August 1, 2021, the Louisiana Legislature has added language to Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:81.3, 81.4, and 283, adding additional offenses.

La. R.S. 14:81.3 now makes it a crime for an individual to use a third (adult) person to contact a juvenile (or person he reasonably believes to be a juvenile) “for the purpose of or with the intent to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person to engage or participate in sexual conduct or a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B), or with the intent to engage or participate in sexual conduct in the presence of the person...”

La. R.S. 14:81.4 prohibits sexual conduct between educators and students when the student is over the age of 17 (but under the age of 21) and where there is more than a 4-year age difference between the educator and the student. The law previously only provided lewd or lascivious acts in the presence of the student. That language has now been expanded to include “virtual or physical” presence.

Finally, La. R.S. 14:283 now prohibits:

The manipulation of a victim who has not yet attained the age of seventeen or who is reasonably believed to have not yet attained the age of seventeen to use any camera, videotape, photo-optical, photo-electric, or any other image recording device or an unmanned aircraft system equipped with any camera, videotape, photo-optical, photo-electric, or any other image recording device to photograph, film, or videotape oneself to send to the person manipulating the victim for a lewd or lascivious purpose.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by the changes in these laws, give us a call at (3180 459-9111 to schedule a consult.