Nevada juvenile law under NRS § 200.900 prohibits children under 18 (minors) from maliciously e-distributing images or videos of another child being bullied.

First-time juvenile offenders face only fines, community service, and/or education classes. However, repeat offenders can be sentenced to detention in juvenile hall.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

• 1. What NRS 200.900 Does
• 2. Purpose of NRS 200.900
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Defenses
• 5. Juvenile Record Seals
• 6. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. What NRS 200.900 Does

To help combat cyberbullying, the Nevada Legislature passed NRS 200.900 to prohibit the electronic dissemination of images of the act of bullying.

If you are under 18, the law prohibits you from using phones, computers, or any other electronic device to:

1. knowingly and willfully send photographs or videos that depict another minor child getting bullied
2. with the intent to encourage bullying and to cause more harm to the victim.¹

Example: Jonah is in middle school and sends several bullying texts to April, a disabled girl in his class. Jonah then takes a screenshot of these texts and emails it to his friends to show what a big shot he is and to encourage them to terrorize April as well.

If caught, Jonah could be subject to juvenile proceedings for violating NRS 200.900 by intentionally emailing bullying images with the intent to further harm April. He may also face disciplinary proceedings for the original bullying texts he sent April.

Note that NRS 200.900 cases are litigated in juvenile court, which is different and less serious than criminal court. Though like criminal defendants, you as a juvenile defendant are entitled to a defense attorney and a hearing to contest the charges.

2. Purpose of NRS 200.900

The Nevada public school system holds itself out as bully-free zones. Bullying is defined as a willful and unlawful physical, verbal, or written act(s) towards another person that is highly offensive and either:

• Is intended to cause or actually causes the person to suffer harm or serious emotional distress;
• Poses a threat of immediate harm or actually inflicts harm to another person or to the property of another person;
• Places the person in reasonable fear of harm or serious emotional distress; or
• Creates an environment which is hostile to a pupil by interfering with the education of the pupil.

Lawmakers recognize that the internet makes it possible for kids to exacerbate a past act of bullying by spreading disturbing images of it instantly and to an unlimited number of recipients. The purpose of NRS 200.900 is to deter and punish this behavior.

3. Penalties

The punishment for violating NRS 200.900 becomes more serious with each successive violation:

For a first violation, the juvenile court will adjudicate you to be a “child in need of supervision” but not a delinquent child. Being a “child in need of supervision” is similar to probation in criminal court, and the judge may order that you submit to various terms such as:

• paying a fine, and/or
• doing community service, and/or
• taking an educational class, and/or
• a driver’s license suspension.

For a second or successive violation, the juvenile court will adjudicate you “delinquent.” In addition to the above penalties, the judge may punish you with up to six months in juvenile hall (such as Clark County Juvenile Detention Center).²

Note that whether or not you are charged in juvenile court, you may also face disciplinary actions from your school. This can include suspension or even expulsion.

4. Defenses

NRS 200.900 is a relatively new law, which allows defense attorneys to be especially creative when crafting a defense. Four possible ways to fight juvenile charges of distributing bullying images online include the following:

1. You never emailed or posted the image/video online. It is easy for kids to steal each other’s smart phones and to masquerade behind each other’s identities. Perhaps someone else used your phone to send the image/video under your name.
   
2. The image/video did not depict bullying. What qualifies as bullying is subjective and depends on context. Perhaps what appears as bullying to the prosecutor is, in fact, a victimless encounter or even play-acting.
   
3. The victim in the image/video was not a minor: NRS 200.900 applies only if the victim in the bullying image is under 18. Otherwise, the judge can toss the case. When determining whether the victim is a minor or not, the juvenile court may inspect the victim, view the image, get witness or medical expert opinions, and/or use other legal methods.
4. You had no intent to cause harm to the bullied child. Sending an image or video of bullying is not in and of itself unlawful if you had no malicious intent. As long as the prosecutor cannot prove that you e-transmitted the image/video with intent to encourage, further or promote bullying and to cause harm to the minor, you should be cleared of the charges.
   

Example: Geoff was in the schoolyard during lunch when he saw Biff threatening to beat up Arnold and calling him names. The principal witnessed Geoff recording the bullying on his iPhone and then posting it to Facebook.

Geoff was charged with violating NRS 200.900, but his defense attorney explained to the judge that he posted it to Facebook for the purpose of shaming Biff, not endangering Arnold. If the judge buys Geoff’s argument that he had no intent to cause further harm to Arnold, the judge should throw out the case.

Note that it is not a defense if the victim sustained no harm from the electronic transmission or distribution of the bullying image/video. Merely sending the image with malicious intent is prohibited regardless of the outcome.

5. Juvenile Record Seals

You may petition the juvenile court to seal your juvenile records three years after you were adjudicated delinquent.³ Either way, most Nevada juvenile records are sealed automatically when you turn 21.⁴

6. Related Offenses

• battery
• cyber-stalking
• harassment
• stalking
• teen sexting

Sending an image or video of bullying is not in and of itself unlawful if the child had no malicious intent.

Additional Resources

For more in-depth information about cyberbullying, refer to the following organizations’ articles:

• StopCyberbullying.Gov – What is Cyberbullying?
• UNICEF – Cyberbullying: What is it and how to stop it.
• Cyberbullying Research Center – How to Identify, Prevent, and Respond.
• National Institutes of Health – Cyberbullying: Hiding behind the screen.
• Pew Research Center – Teens and Cyberbullying 2022.

Legal References