South Carolina General Assembly
113th Session, 1999-2000

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Bill 981


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      981
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 Senate
Introduced Date:                  20000111
Primary Sponsor:                  Reese
All Sponsors:                     Reese, Elliott, Grooms, Leatherman
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\nbd\11577ac00.doc
Residing Body:                    Senate
Current Committee:                Judiciary Committee 11 SJ
Subject:                          Obscenity and material harmful to minors 
                                  includes computer generated images, Crimes and 
                                  Offenses, Sex


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate  20000119  Co-Sponsor added by Senator                    Grooms
                                                                 Leatherman
Senate  20000111  Introduced, read first time,           11 SJ
                  referred to Committee
Senate  19991207  Prefiled, referred to Committee        11 SJ


                             Versions of This Bill

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTIONS 16-15-305, 16-15-375, 16-15-385, AND 16-15-405, ALL AS AMENDED, SECTIONS 16-15-315, 16-15-325, 16-15-335, 16-15-345, 16-15-355, 16-15-387, 16-15-395, 16-15-410, AND 16-15-445, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, ALL RELATING TO THE PREPARATION, PROMOTION, PROCUREMENT, AND DISSEMINATION OF OBSCENITY AND MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT OBSCENITY AND MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS INCLUDES COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGES AND THAT PREPARING, PROMOTING, PROCURING, AND DISSEMINATING INCLUDES BY THE USE OF COMPUTER OR A COMPUTER SERVICE OR COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 16-15-305(A), (D), (F), (G), and (I) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, are amended to read:

"( A) It is unlawful for any person knowingly to disseminate obscenity. A person disseminates obscenity within the meaning of this article if he:

(1) sells, delivers, or provides or offers or agrees to sell, deliver, or provide any obscene writing, picture, record, or other representation or description of the obscene, including by computer;

(2) presents or directs an obscene play, dance, or other performance, or participates directly in that portion thereof which makes it obscene;

(3) publishes, exhibits, or otherwise makes available, including by computer, anything obscene to any group or individual; or

(4) exhibits, presents, rents, sells, delivers, or provides; or offers or agrees to exhibit, present, rent, or to provide: any motion picture, film, filmstrip, or projection slide, or sound recording, sound tape, or sound track, video tapes and recordings, or computer generated images, or any matter or material of whatever form which is a representation, description, performance, or publication of the obscene.

(D) Obscenity must be judged with reference to ordinary adults except that it must be judged with reference to children or other especially susceptible audiences or clearly defined deviant sexual groups if it appears from the character of the material or the circumstances of its dissemination to be especially for or directed to children or such audiences or groups. The dissemination in a public forum, including public computer bulletin boards, is presumed available to children and its obscenity must be judged with reference to children.

(F) It is unlawful for any a person knowingly to create, buy, procure, or process obscene material, including by the use of computer, with the purpose and intent of disseminating it.

(G) It is unlawful for a person to advertise or otherwise promote, including by the use of computer, the sale of material represented or held out by them as obscene.

(I) Obscene material disseminated, procured, or promoted in violation of this section is contraband and may must be seized by appropriate law enforcement authorities."

SECTION 2. Section 16-15-315 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-315. No person shall, as a condition to any sale, allocation, consignment, or delivery for resale of any paper, magazine, book, periodical, or publication, computer disc, or computer service may require that the purchaser or consignee receive for resale any other article, book, or publication, computer disc, or computer service which is obscene within the meaning of Section 16-15-305 nor shall any and no person may deny or threaten to deny any franchise or impose or threaten to impose any penalty, financial or otherwise, by reason of the failure or refusal of any person to accept the articles, books, or publications, computer disc, or computer service or by reason of the return thereof of them. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than one year or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both."

SECTION 3. Section 16-15-325 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-325. Any An individual who knowingly:

(a)(1) photographs himself or any other individual or animal for purposes of preparing an obscene film, photograph, negative, slide, videotapes, or motion picture, or computer generated image for the purpose of dissemination; or

(b)(2) models, poses, acts, or otherwise assists in the preparation of any obscene film, photograph, negative, slide, videotapes, or motion picture, or computer generated image for the purpose of dissemination is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than one year and fined not more than one thousand dollars."

SECTION 4. Section 16-15-335 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-335. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly, in any manner, hires, employs, uses, or permits any person under the age of eighteen years to do or assist in doing any act or thing constituting an offense under this article and involving any material, including computer generated images, act, or thing he knows or reasonably should know to be obscene within the meaning of Section 16-15-305 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than five years."

SECTION 5. Section 16-15-345 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-345. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates, including by computer, to any a person under the age of eighteen years any material which he knows or reasonably should know to be obscene within the meaning of Section 16-15-305 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than five years. Knowledge under this provision refers to the act of dissemination and does not require knowledge of the age of the individual to whom dissemination is completed."

SECTION 6. Section 16-15-355 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-355. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates, including by computer, to any a minor twelve years of age or younger any material which he knows or reasonably should know to be obscene within the meaning of Section 16-15-305 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than ten years. Knowledge under this provision refers to the act of dissemination and does not require knowledge of the age of the individual to whom dissemination is completed."

SECTION 7. Section 16-15-375(2) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"(2) 'Material' means pictures, drawings, video recordings, films, computer generated images, or other visual depictions or representations but not material consisting entirely of written words. 'Material' includes written or typed words designed to provide a computer generated image."

SECTION 8. Section 16-15-375 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 421 of 1994, is further amended by adding at the end:

"(7) 'Dissemination' includes utilization of a computer."

SECTION 9. Section 16-15-385(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 358 of 1990, is further amended to read:

"(A) A person commits the offense of disseminating harmful material to minors if, knowing the character or content of the material, he the person:

(1) sells, furnishes, presents, or distributes to a minor material that is harmful to minors; or

(2) allows a minor to review or peruse material that is harmful to minors.; or

(3) sells, furnishes, presents, or distributes in a public forum, including public computer bulletin boards, material that is harmful to minors.

A person does not commit an offense under this subsection when he the person employs a minor to work in a theater if the minor's parent or guardian consents to the employment and if the minor is not allowed in the viewing area when material harmful to minors is shown."

SECTION 10. Section 16-15-387 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 421 of 1994, is amended to read:

"Section 16-15-387. It is unlawful for any a person to employ a person under the age of eighteen years to appear in a state of sexually explicit nudity, as defined in Section 16-15-375(6), in a public place, including public computer bulletin boards.

Mistake of age is not a defense to a prosecution under this section. A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both."

SECTION 11. Section 16-15-395(A)(4) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"(4) records, photographs, films, develops, or duplicates, including by computer, for sale or pecuniary gain material that contains a visual representation depicting a minor engaged in sexual activity."

SECTION 12. Section16-15-405(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 186 of 1987, is further amended to read:

"(A) An individual commits the offense of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor if, knowing the character or content of the material, he:

(1) records, photographs, films, develops, or duplicates, including through computer generated images, material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaged in sexual activity; or

(2) distributes, transports, exhibits, receives, sells, purchases, exchanges, or solicits, including by computer, material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaged in sexual activity."

SECTION 13. Section 16-15-410(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 73 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(A) An individual commits the offense of third degree sexual exploitation of minor if, knowing the character or content of the material, he possesses material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity. Possession includes images stored on computer."

SECTION 14. Section 16-15-445(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 168 of 1987, is amended to read:

"(A) All equipment used directly or indirectly by a person in committing a violation of Section 16-15-305, 16-15-395, or 16-15-405, or 16-15-410, including necessary software, may must be seized by the law enforcement agency making the arrest and ordered forfeited by the court in which the conviction was obtained."

SECTION 15. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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