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S. 838
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator McConnell
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\12052ac04.doc
Introduced in the Senate on January 15, 2004
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary
Summary: Criminal solicitation of a minor; obscenity crimes involving minors
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/15/2004 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-5 1/15/2004 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-5
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1610, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE LEGISLATIVE INTENT TO ENHANCE THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AND TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF THE STATE TO DETECT AND ELIMINATE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, SO AS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FINDINGS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCERNING THE USE OF THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM TO PREVENT, DETECT, AND PROSECUTE CRIMES INVOLVING THE DEPICTION OF CHILDREN ENGAGED IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND OBSCENITY CRIMES INVOLVING CHILDREN; TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1630, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE GRAND JURY AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPANELING THE GRAND JURY, SO AS TO FURTHER SPECIFY CRIMES INVOLVING OBSCENITY THAT ARE WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE GRAND JURY; TO ADD SECTION 16-15-342 SO AS TO CREATE THE FELONY CRIME OF CRIMINAL SOLICITATION OF A MINOR AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 16-15-335, 16-15-345, 16-15-355, 16-15-385, 16-15-387, 16-15-395, 16-15-405, 16-15-410, AND 16-15-415, ALL RELATING TO OBSCENITY CRIMES INVOLVING MINORS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR THESE CRIMES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-445, RELATING TO THE SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF EQUIPMENT USED IN COMMITTING CERTAIN OBSCENITY CRIMES INVOLVING MINORS, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE CRIMINAL SOLICITATION OF A MINOR AND PROMOTING PROSECUTION OF A MINOR.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 14-7-1610 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 335 of 1992, is further amended by inserting after the second and before the third unnumbered paragraphs:
"The General Assembly further finds that it fundamentally is necessary to improve the ability of the State to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute crimes that involve the depiction of children under the age of eighteen engaged in sexual activity, as well as obscenity crimes that are directed toward or otherwise involve children under the age of eighteen. The serious and unacceptable threat that these crimes pose to children is self-evident, and impacts the State as a whole even if the actual criminal acts occur only in one county of this State. An effective effort to eliminate these terrible crimes requires a coordinated statewide effort, which more effectively will be accomplished through the state grand jury system. Furthermore, the effective prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of these crimes may require the use and application of state obscenity statutes or common law offenses not specifically directed toward the prevention and punishment of obscenity crimes involving children. Because many of these crimes involve computers, statewide jurisdiction over these crimes is consistent with the jurisdiction of a state grand jury over offenses defined in the Computer Crime Act. For these reasons, the General Assembly concludes that a state grand jury must be available to employ its broad investigative powers in the investigation of child-related obscenity by enabling it to investigate all obscenity offenses, regardless whether those crimes have multi-county impact or transpire or have significance in more than one county of this State."
SECTION 2. Section 14-7-1630(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 78 of 2003, is further amended to read:
"(A) The jurisdiction of a state grand jury impaneled under this article extends throughout the State. The subject matter jurisdiction of a state grand jury in all cases is limited to the following offenses:
(1) crimes involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances, or any crime arising out of or in connection with a crime involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances including, but not limited to, money laundering as specified in Section 44-53-475, obstruction of justice, and perjury or subornation of perjury, and crimes involving obscenity or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned crimes if the crimes are of a multi-county nature or have transpired or are transpiring or have significance in more than one county of this State;
(2) any crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615, any crime, statutory, common law or other, arising out of or in connection with a crime involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615, and any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615;
(3) crimes involving the election laws including, but not limited to, those named offenses as specified in Title 7, or any common law crimes involving the election laws where not superseded, or any crime arising out of or in connection with the election laws, or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a crime involving the election laws;
(4) crimes involving computer crimes, pursuant to Chapter 16, Title 16, or any conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes;
(5) crimes involving terrorism, or any conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes. Terrorism includes activities that:
(a) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of this State;
(b) appear to be intended to:
(i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(c) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of this State; and
(6) crimes involving any violation of Chapter 1, Title 35 of The Uniform Securities Act, or any crime related to securities fraud or a violation of the securities laws. and
(7) crimes involving obscenity including, but not limited to, all crimes specified in Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16 or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a crime involving obscenity."
SECTION 3. Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-15-342. (A) A person commits the offense of criminal solicitation of a minor if he knowingly contacts or communicates with, or attempts to contact or communicate with, a person who is under the age of eighteen, or a person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen, for the purpose or with the intent of persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing that person to engage or participate in sexual activity, as defined in Section 16-15-375(5), or in a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60.
(B) It is not a defense to a prosecution for this offense that the person:
(1) reasonably believed to be under eighteen years of age was a law enforcement agent or officer acting in an official capacity; or
(2) who has not obtained the age of eighteen or the person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen consented to engage or participate in the sexual activity or in the violent crime.
(C) A person who violates subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years or both."
SECTION 4. Section 16-15-335 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-335. Any 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, 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 ten years."
SECTION 5. Section 16-15-345 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-345. Any individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates to any 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 ten years."
SECTION 6. Section 16-15-355 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-355. Any individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates to any 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 fifteen years."
SECTION 7. Section 16-15-385(D) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(D) A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five ten years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both."
SECTION 8. Section 16-15-387 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-387. It is unlawful for any 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.
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 ten years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both."
SECTION 9. Section 16-15-395(D) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(D) A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than three five years nor more than ten twenty years. No part of the minimum sentence of imprisonment may be suspended nor is the individual convicted eligible for parole until he has served the minimum term of imprisonment. Sentences imposed pursuant to this section shall run consecutively with and commence at the expiration of any other sentence being served by the person sentenced."
SECTION 10. Section 16-15-405(D) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(D) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not less than two three years nor more than five ten years. No part of the minimum sentence may be suspended nor is the individual convicted eligible for parole until he has served the minimum sentence."
SECTION 11. Section 16-15-410(C) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 73 of 1991, is amended to read:
"(C) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five eight years."
SECTION 12. Section 16-15-415(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(C) An individual who violates this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than three five years nor more than ten twenty years. No part of the minimum sentence may be suspended nor is the individual convicted eligible for parole until he has served the minimum sentence. Sentences imposed pursuant to this section shall run consecutively with and shall commence at the expiration of any other sentence being served by the individual sentenced."
SECTION 13. Section 16-15-445(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(A) All equipment used directly by a person in committing a violation of Section 16-15-305, 16-15-342, 16-15-395 or, 16-15-405, or 16-15-410, including necessary software, may be seized by the law enforcement agency making the arrest and ordered forfeited by the court in which the conviction was obtained."
SECTION 14. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.
SECTION 15. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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