Two New Florida Laws Crack Down on Adults Who Exploit Children

Two Florida laws taking effect October 1, 2026 impose tougher penalties on adults who exploit children. House Bill 1525 makes it a third-degree felony for indecent exposure or non-contact sexual acts performed in front of a minor under 16, even if the child was unaware or did not see the act, closing a loophole previously used as a defense in lewd or lascivious behavior cases. Child advocates including Sarah Marie Henry of Catch the Wave of Hope characterized the change as significant because it removes the requirement that a child be aware of the exploitation for an offense to have occurred.

Expanding the definition of an offense to include acts a child does not witness or comprehend reflects the principle that harm is defined by the offender's conduct, not the victim's immediate awareness. The same logic applies to online exploitation, where a grooming conversation or sextortion demand occurs in a private channel and the child may not recognize the danger until coercion has already begun. Guardii detects hostile or manipulative messaging patterns targeting minors across Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms in real time, escalating the threat to a parent or safeguarding professional before the child understands what is happening, ensuring that protection does not depend on a minor's ability to self-report abuse in progress.