Hidalgo County DA ‘all for’ bill nixing child pornography as legal term

A new house bill could change child pornography as a legal term to child sexual abuse material, a means of eliminating the connotation that links pornography to consent, and asserts the heinousness of the crime.

House Bill 1552 seeks to change the child pornography term as an offense to child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, and updating references to conform to that terminology.

Former Pharr resident Crystal Corl, a forensic behavioral criminologist and consultant at her business, Corl Detective Agency LLC, which deals with sex crimes against children as well as homicides and investigates wrongful deaths, believes it’s time for the state of Texas to adopt this change.

“The reasons why language truly matters is because we all hear the term child pornography and the majority of us obviously understand that it’s illegal, that it’s grotesque,” Corl said. “We understand the harmful crime that this is, but over time, child pornography alone is so heavily diluted. It downplays the reality of this sexual abuse that’s being recorded.”

On April 1, Corl, joined by one of the bill’s sponsors, state Rep. Dennis Paul, R-Houston, spoke before the Texas House of Representatives to advocate for the bill.

“The term child pornography minimizes the severity of the crime and the trauma experienced by children,” Paul said in a video of the hearing. “Child pornography implies participation or consent, which is not legally or developmentally possible for minors.”

It’s believed that changing the terminology would shift how prosecutors, judges and society view these crimes.

Corl also argues that people convicted of these crimes tend to get lighter sentences.

She explained that they did experience resistance from some members of the committee because they couldn’t understand why the language needed to change.

“I explained to a lot of representatives that it’s not just about language,” Corl said. “Words really do matter and how we go about it reflects how we protect our children. We’re talking about victims and survivors.”

Balance sign in court (Adobe Stock)

From her experience, Corl explained that images and videos of victims circulating on the internet can be difficult to take down, giving validity to the common phrase found online that goes, “once on the internet, always on the internet.”

She added that modern technology makes it easier for people to send and receive these materials, citing a case from the 1970s where a victim’s uncle was distributing child pornography using floppy discs.

“To this day, her images are still there,” Corl said. “So, I was explaining to the representatives that proper terminology really affects how offenders are assessed, charged and monitored. It’s truly a public safety (issue).”

Corl understands that changing the language won’t stop abuse from happening, but it can be the first step in combating it and showing support for victims.

When asked, Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios expressed support for the bill.

“Anything to protect our kids, stronger laws for our kids, I’m all for that,” Palacios said. “We’re all about protecting kids.”

Palacios was uncertain how the change would affect actual prosecution of those crimes, but was sure that if it meant more protection for children, he’s in favor of it.

Cameron County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Christian Mendoza did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

On Friday, April 18, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence passed HB 1552 by a 10 to 1 vote.

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