Gov. Kelly Ayotte held a ceremonial bill signing Monday to highlight a package of new laws aimed at protecting victims of crime, strengthening penalties for human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and cracking down on AI-generated child sexual abuse materials.
One of the new laws, empowering a committee to review domestic violence-related deaths, will have an immediate impact on a high-profile murder case in Berlin, N.H.
“New Hampshire continues to take decisive action to protect victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other horrific crimes and get offenders off our streets,” Ayotte said. “From cracking down on human trafficking to establishing a new domestic violence fatality review committee, we’re making sure our state remains the safest state in the nation.”
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signs anti-crime legislation at a state house gathering on July 28, 2025.
Among the bills signed into law was Senate Bill 140, which establishes the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee. It is tasked with conducting comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of domestic violence-related deaths, including the recent murder of 25-year-old Marisol Fuentes-Huaracha, who police say was shot and killed by her estranged husband at a Berlin restaurant earlier this month.
“I was especially proud to establish a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee in state law,” Ayotte told NHJournal. “We must do better to protect victims of domestic violence and prevent these senseless deaths like the loss of Marisol Fuentes in Berlin. I have directed Attorney General Formella and the committee to review Marisol’s case first.
“By bringing together state officials, law enforcement, victim advocates, and other stakeholders, we can identify ways to protect victims of domestic violence and keep abusers behind bars before they can do further harm.”
Ayotte also signed Senate Bill 300, which makes it a felony to knowingly create or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse images. The law targets those who manipulate or fabricate images of children without parental consent, closing a loophole in state law.
“These new laws will greatly bolster public safety in our state,” said Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead). “They will make our state safer by banning harmful AI images and preventing family members from profiting off the deaths of their relatives. Whether in person or online, we are doing our part to prevent abuse in our state.”
The prime sponsor of SB300, Sen. Dan Innis (R-Bradford), praised the bipartisan effort behind the bill.
“It’s sad we need a law like this, but technology had gotten ahead of our statute,” Innis told NHJournal. “This addresses a real problem that actually occurred in our state just this spring, and there was nothing law enforcement could do. Now there is, and I’m proud everyone got behind this important bill.”
Innis is currently running in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
Another bill signed into law Monday, Senate Bill 267, aims to deter human trafficking by penalizing the patrons of prostitution. The law imposes a mandatory $500 fine on those who pay for sex—on top of existing legal penalties—and directs the revenue to the state’s Victims’ Assistance Fund to support survivors of sexual exploitation.
“SB 267 puts survivors first,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Donovan Fenton (D-Keene). “This law makes it clear that buying sex is not a victimless act—it fuels exploitation.”
Prostitution is illegal in every U.S. state except Nevada, where licensed brothels are permitted in some counties, and Maine, where selling sex is decriminalized but paying for sex remains illegal.
Lauren Hersh, national director of World Without Exploitation, praised New Hampshire for “setting a bold and compassionate standard for other states to follow.”
“For far too long, those sold in prostitution have shouldered the legal and emotional burden, while buyers have acted with near-total impunity,” Hersh said. “We are ecstatic that New Hampshire is leading the way by targeting the source of harm—the sex buyers—while funding crucial services for survivors.”
With the passage of SB 267, New Hampshire joins a growing number of states shifting the legal burden away from the exploited and toward those who fuel the sex trade.
State Sen. Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester) was the prime sponsor of two bills signed Monday.
One prohibits those convicted of murder from financially profiting from the death of the victim. For example, if a person kills their parent, they cannot then inherit their parent’s estate.
The other requires a mandatory sentence of 18 years to life for criminals caught sex-trafficking minor children.
“These new laws will not only help our law enforcement officers but will also inflict harsh penalties on human trafficking and exploitation in New Hampshire,” Sullivan said. “These laws will deter these heinous crimes in our state.”
