Calif. bill limiting porn images advances

SACRAMENTO, March 26 (UPI) -- A California Assembly committee passed a measure making it illegal to post images of minors on Web sites that contain obscene material without their consent.

The measure, which includes punishments including a year in county jail, was approved Tuesday by the Public Safety Committee and could come before the full Assembly next month.

The Orange County Register said the bill was introduced after it was discovered that scores of photos of high-school water polo players from around Southern California were being displayed on homosexual porn Web sites.

Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, who sponsored the bill, told the Register that aside from the psychological effect, the images often included indications of what school the young men attended.

"It is easy to find them and poses a serious threat to the athlete as well," Smyth said.