Steps are being taken by the state Congress to update Jalisco’s penal code so as to address crimes whose emergence would have been difficult to foresee prior to the age of internet and cellphones.
Under the planned reforms, perpetrators could face long prison terms for sending or sharing images of a sexual nature on phones, computers or tablets.
Congressional commissions have approved new penalties that will dictate a sentence of two to five years for sharing printed or photocopied images of a sexual nature without consent. That sentence is modified to six to 12 years if the subject of said images is a minor.
Sharing images or videos of a sexual nature over the internet or between cellular phones, especially when it is deemed “revenge porn,” warrants a sentence of four to eight years.
Cases where un-consensual sharing of videos or images of a sexual nature results in the victim’s suicide carry higher sentences.
Congressman Rocio Corona Nakamura, who helped spearhead the new legislation, explained that the clauses concerning suicide arose in part from the notoriety of the so-called “blue whale challenge,” a sinister internet game wherein the participant completes a series of tasks over a 50-day period, at the end of which the player is obliged to take his/her life.
Under the new statutes, those guilty of successfully driving a person 12 years of age or older to suicide would spend three to ten years in jail. If the suicide attempt fails, the instigator’s sentence is three to eight years in jail. Finally, if the person being goaded to end his/her life is under the age of 12, they would spend from 20 to 40 years in jail.