New Jersey Sexting Laws for Teens and Minors

Learn how New Jersey handles teen sexting cases.

By , Attorney University of Houston Law Center
Updated by Rebecca Pirius, Attorney Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Updated 1/27/2025

Sexting images of a minor­­­­—someone younger than 18—can result in serious charges and penalties. These offenses can be prosecuted under New Jersey's child pornography and obscenity laws. The law provides a diversion option for certain instances of teen sexting, which can avoid harsh felony penalties for minors. Read on to learn more about sexting laws in New Jersey.

What Is Sexting?

Sexting refers to the taking, sending, receiving, or sharing of nude or sexually explicit photos or videos by electronic means, such as text messages, social media posts, or emails. Especially common among teenagers, sexting can easily be used to bully or harass others.

Is Sexting a Crime in New Jersey?

Sexting between consenting adults is legal, as long as the images aren't of minors. New Jersey prohibits sexting by teens younger than 18, but the law offers some teens a chance to avoid a criminal record by participating in a diversion program. Adults—including teens age 18 and 19—who sext with minors can face serious charges under New Jersey's child pornography and obscenity laws. Convictions of these sexting-related crimes can result in hefty fines and significant incarceration time.

New Jersey's Laws on Teen Sexting

New Jersey law makes it a crime for teenagers to engage in sexting. Sexting crimes that involve teens and minors fall under New Jersey's laws that prohibit endangering child welfare (child pornography) and promoting obscenity.

Endangering the Welfare of Children (Child Pornography)

Sexting images of minors is considered child pornography and can be prosecuted under New Jersey's endangering the welfare of a child law. The law applies to both adults and minors who sext images of juveniles (younger than 18). For minors, this also includes selfies.

Promoting Obscenity to Minors

Adults who sext their images to a minor commit the crime of promoting obscene material to a child. Almost any photograph, image, or video that is sexual in nature can be considered obscene. The offense of promoting obscene material requires the unlawful actor did so knowingly. "Knowingly" means having knowledge of the character and content of the material or having failed to exercise reasonable inspection which would disclose its character and content.

What Are the Penalties for Teen Sexting in New Jersey?

Depending on the age of the offender and the victim, as well as the unlawful conduct involved, penalties for offenders guilty of teen sexting can range from diversion programs to supervision to incarceration.

Diversion Programs for Teen Sexting

New Jersey created a diversion program that can be used instead of criminal prosecution for teens and minors (younger than 18) who engage in sexting. It applies when a minor sexts or receives a sext from another minor involving nude or sexually suggestive images. (The diversion program isn't available to minors who sext images showing a child engaged in a sexual act. These minors would face charges for endangering the welfare of a child.)

If appropriate, the judge has the discretion to order a juvenile who creates, distributes, or exhibits images that qualify as child pornography to participate in a remedial education or counseling program. Diversion allows an offender to be held accountable for their actions but also works to rehabilitate the individual by showing them the legal and non-legal consequences of such conduct—in the hopes the individual will not repeat the conduct. To qualify for diversion, the creator and subject of the image must both be younger than 18. Diversion programs allow a juvenile to avoid prosecution and a criminal record. Diversion is oftentimes offered to first-time offenders.

Criminal Penalties for Teen Sexting

Adult teens (age 18 and 19) don't qualify for the diversion based on their age. They can face harsh felony-level adult charges for possessing child pornography or promoting obscenity. Minors (younger than 18) who don't qualify or enter diversion may face similar charges but in juvenile court.

Child pornography. A person who creates or shares child pornography commits a crime in the second degree. This offense would apply to a 19-year-old who shares partially nude photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend with his college buddies. Second-degree crimes carry 5 to 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. Receiving a sext from a minor may also fall under possession of child pornography. A person who knowingly possesses child pornography faces a third-degree criminal conviction, punishable by 3 to 5 years' imprisonment and a $15,000 fine.

Obscenity. Prosecutors could also charge a minor or adult under the obscenity laws for sexting an obscene image to a minor. This conduct is also a crime of the third degree with a possible 3 to 5 year sentence.

Civil Consequences for Teen Sexting

For an offender who receives a conviction in adult court or an adjudication of delinquency in juvenile court, the court may also assess a civil penalty of $1,000 for a crime of the second degree and $750 for a crime of the third degree. These penalties fund computer crime prevention efforts. Additionally, for certain sexting-related crimes, defendants can also face civil lawsuits.

Will a New Jersey Teen Go to Adult or Juvenile Court for Sexting Charges?

Juveniles who commit crimes when they are younger than 18 fall under the jurisdiction of New Jersey's juvenile justice system. Older teens (18- and 19-year-olds) go to adult court and face adult penalties.

Juvenile court judges generally have more discretion than adult court judges in sentencing, as the juvenile justice system focuses more on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Within the juvenile system, sentencing options may include counseling, community service, treatment, monitoring, curfews, educational programs, or, in more egregious cases, detention in a juvenile facility. In juvenile court, the minor receives an adjudication of delinquency rather than a criminal conviction.

Can Sexting Result in Sex Offender Registration in New Jersey?

New Jersey's Sex Offender Registration laws can apply to both adults convicted, and juveniles adjudicated delinquent, of certain sexting-related crimes, including creating or distributing child pornography. The registration law contains an exception for certain teen sexting cases. Minors adjudicated delinquent for child pornography do not have to register as sex offenders, as long as the sexting was consensual, and the creator and subject of the image were both younger than 18.

Registration generally lasts at least 15 years. Failure to register constitutes a crime of the third degree, punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Talk to a Lawyer

Sexting convictions can incur serious fines and substantial incarceration time for a guilty defendant in New Jersey. Anyone charged with a sexting crime should contact a local criminal defense attorney, regardless of whether the case is in juvenile or adult court. Ask the court for a public defender if you can't afford a private attorney. A qualified lawyer can give you sound legal advice and recommend the best course of action for the unique circumstances of your case.

(N.J. Stat. §§ 2A:4A-22; 2A:4A-71.1; 2C:7-2; 2C:24-4; 2C:34-3; 2C:43-3, 2C:43-3.8, 2C:43-6, 2C:43-7 (2025).)

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