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Indicates Matter Stricken
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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ADOPTED
April 6, 2004
H. 4451
S. Printed 4/06/04--S. [SEC 4/7/04 2:12 PM]
Read the first time February 24, 2004.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-342 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF CRIMINAL SOLICITATION OF A MINOR AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 14-7-1610 AND 14-7-1630, BOTH AS AMENDED, BOTH RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF A STATE GRAND JURY, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT THAT AN OBSCENITY CRIME MUST BE MULTI-COUNTY IN NATURE OR MUST TRANSPIRE IN MORE THAN ONE COUNTY FOR THE STATE GRAND JURY TO HAVE JURISDICTION; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-445, RELATING TO THE SEIZURE OF EQUIPMENT USED IN THE COMMISSION OF AN OBSCENITY CRIME INVOLVING A MINOR, SO AS TO INCLUDE A REFERENCE TO SECTIONS 16-15-410 AND 16-15-342; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-335, RELATING TO HIRING A MINOR TO VIOLATE OBSCENITY LAWS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-345, RELATING TO THE DISSEMINATION OF OBSCENITY TO A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-355, RELATING TO THE DISSEMINATION OF OBSCENITY TO A PERSON UNDER TWELVE, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-385, RELATING TO THE DISSEMINATION OF HARMFUL MATERIAL TO A MINOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-387, RELATING TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN TO APPEAR IN PUBLIC IN A STATE OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT NUDITY, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-395, RELATING TO FIRST DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-405, RELATING TO SECOND DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-410, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THIRD DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-415, RELATING TO PROMOTING THE PROSTITUTION OF A MINOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PENALTIES.
Amend Title To Conform
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 to read:
"Section 14-7-1610. It is the intent of the General Assembly to enhance the grand jury system and to improve the ability of the State to detect and eliminate criminal activity. The General Assembly recognizes the great importance of having the federal authorities available for certain investigations. The General Assembly finds that crimes involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances, as well as crimes involving obscenity, often transpire or have significance in more than one county of this State. When this occurs, these crimes are most effectively detected and investigated by a grand jury system which has with the authority to cross county lines.
The General Assembly further finds that there is a need to enhance the grand jury system to improve the ability of the State to detect and eliminate public corruption. Crimes involving public corruption transpire at times in a single county, but often transpire or have significance in more than one county of this State. The General Assembly believes that a state grand jury, possessing considerably broader investigative authority than individual county grand juries, should be available to investigate public corruption offenses in South Carolina.
The General Assembly finds it fundamentally 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 in sexual activity, and obscenity crimes that are directed toward or 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 act occurs only in one county of the State. An effective effort to eliminate these heinous crimes requires a coordinated effort, which is accomplished more effectively through the state grand jury system. 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. 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 the state grand jury to investigate all obscenity offenses, regardless of their multi-county impact, or whether they transpire or have significance in more than one county of this State.
The General Assembly further finds that there is a need to enhance the grand jury system to improve the ability of the State to detect and investigate 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 a 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.
The General Assembly further finds that related criminal activity often arises out of or in connection with crimes involving narcotics, dangerous drugs or controlled substances, obscenity, or public corruption, and that the mechanism for detecting and investigating these related crimes must be improved also.
Accordingly, the General Assembly concludes that a state grand jury should be allowed to investigate certain crimes related to narcotics, dangerous drugs, and obscenity and should also be allowed to investigate crimes involving public corruption and election laws.
Nothing herein limits This section does not limit the authority of a county grand jury, solicitor, or other appropriate law enforcement personnel to investigate, indict, or prosecute offenses within the jurisdiction of the state grand jury."
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 a crime involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances, or any a 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, perjury or subornation of perjury, and crimes involving obscenity or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any one of the aforementioned crimes if the crimes are crime is of a multi-county nature or have has transpired or are is transpiring or have has significance in more than one county of this State;
(2) any a crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615, any a 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 a crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615;
(3) crimes a crime involving the election laws including, but not limited to, those named offenses as specified in Title 7, or any a common law crimes crime involving the election laws where if not superseded, or any a 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 a crime involving computer crimes, pursuant to Chapter 16, Title 16, or any a conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes a crime involving computer crimes;
(5) crimes a crime involving terrorism, or any a conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes a crime involving terrorism. Terrorism includes activities an activity that:
(a) involve involves acts an act dangerous to human life that are is a violation of the criminal laws of this State;
(b) appear appears 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 occurs primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of this State; and
(6) crimes a crime involving any a violation of Chapter 1, Title 35 of the Uniform Securities Act, or any a crime related to securities fraud or a violation of the securities laws.; and
(7) a crime involving obscenity including, but not limited to, a crime as provided in Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16, or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a crime involving obscenity."
SECTION 3. Section 16-15-335 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-335. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who, in any manner, knowingly, in any manner, hires, employs, uses, or permits any a person under the age of eighteen years to do or assist in doing any an act or thing constituting an offense under pursuant to 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 4. Chapter 15, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-15-342. (A) A person eighteen years of age or older 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 of or with the intent of persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing the person to engage or participate in a sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5) or a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, or with the intent to perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person under the age of eighteen, or person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen.
(B) Consent is a defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section if the person under the age of eighteen, or the person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen, is at least sixteen years old.
(C) Consent is not a defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section if the person under the age of eighteen, or the person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen, is under the age of sixteen.
(D) It is not a defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section, on the basis of consent or otherwise, that the person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen is a law enforcement agent or officer acting in an official capacity.
(E) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both."
SECTION 5. Section 16-15-345 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-345. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates 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 ten years."
SECTION 6. Section 16-15-355 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-15-355. Any An individual eighteen years of age or older who knowingly disseminates 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 fifteen years."
SECTION 7. Section 16-15-385(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 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. (A) 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.
(B) Mistake of age is not a defense to a prosecution under pursuant to this section. A person who violates the provisions of 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, as last amended by Act 81 of 2001, is further amended to read:
"(D) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than three 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 must run consecutively with and commence at the expiration of any other another 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 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 last amended 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 ten years."
SECTION 12. Section 16-15-415(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(C) An individual who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than three 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 must run consecutively with and shall must commence at the expiration of any other another 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 Sections 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. Section 23-3-430(C) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 363 of 2000, is further amended by adding:
"(20) criminal solicitation of a minor if the purpose or intent of the solicitation or attempted solicitation was:
(a) to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person solicited to engage or participate in sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5); or
(b) to perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person solicited (Section 16-15-342)."
SECTION 15. Section 44-48-30(2) is amended by adding:
"(p) criminal solicitation of a minor, as provided in Section 16-15-342, if the purpose or intent of the solicitation or attempted solicitation was:
(i) to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person solicited to engage or participate in sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5); or
(ii) to perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person solicited."
SECTION 16. 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 17. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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