SF 1404

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime; providing criminal penalties for 
  1.3             possessing and disseminating pornographic work 
  1.4             depicting a minor; including computer-generated or 
  1.5             computer-altered images within the definition of 
  1.6             pornographic work; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.7             sections 617.246, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, and by 
  1.8             adding a subdivision; and 617.247, subdivisions 1, 2, 
  1.9             3, 4, and by adding a subdivision. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.246, 
  1.12  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For the purpose of this 
  1.14  section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings 
  1.15  given them. 
  1.16     (b) "Minor" means any person under the age of 18. 
  1.17     (c) "Promote" means to produce, direct, publish, 
  1.18  manufacture, issue, or advertise. 
  1.19     (d) "Sexual performance" means any play, dance or other 
  1.20  exhibition presented before an audience or for purposes of 
  1.21  visual or mechanical reproduction which depicts that uses a 
  1.22  minor to depict actual or simulated sexual conduct as defined by 
  1.23  clause (e). 
  1.24     (e) "Sexual conduct" means any of the following if the 
  1.25  depiction involves a minor: 
  1.26     (i) (1) an act of sexual intercourse, normal or perverted, 
  1.27  actual or simulated, including genital-genital, anal-genital, or 
  2.1   oral-genital intercourse, whether between human beings or 
  2.2   between a human being and an animal.; 
  2.3      (ii) (2) sadomasochistic abuse, meaning flagellation, 
  2.4   torture, or similar demeaning acts inflicted by or upon a person 
  2.5   who is nude or clad in undergarments or in a revealing costume, 
  2.6   or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise 
  2.7   physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.; 
  2.8      (iii) (3) masturbation or; 
  2.9      (4) lewd exhibitions of the genitals.; or 
  2.10     (iv) (5) physical contact or simulated physical contact 
  2.11  with the clothed or unclothed pubic areas or buttocks of a human 
  2.12  male or female, or the breasts of the female, whether alone or 
  2.13  between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans 
  2.14  and animals in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or 
  2.15  gratification. 
  2.16     (f) "Pornographic work" means: 
  2.17     (1) an original or reproduction of a picture, film, 
  2.18  photograph, negative, slide, videotape, videodisc, or drawing of 
  2.19  a sexual performance involving a minor; or 
  2.20     (2) any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, 
  2.21  video, picture, drawing, negative, slide or computer-generated 
  2.22  image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, 
  2.23  mechanical, or other means that: 
  2.24     (i) uses a minor to depict actual or simulated sexual 
  2.25  conduct; 
  2.26     (ii) appears to be of a minor engaging in sexual conduct; 
  2.27     (iii) has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that 
  2.28  an identifiable minor is engaging in sexual conduct; or 
  2.29     (iv) is advertised, promoted, presented, described, or 
  2.30  distributed in such a manner that conveys the impression that 
  2.31  the material is or contains a visual depiction of a minor 
  2.32  engaging in sexual conduct.  
  2.33     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.246, 
  2.34  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 2.  [USE OF MINOR.] It is unlawful for a person to 
  2.36  promote, employ, use or permit a minor to engage in or assist 
  3.1   others to engage minors in posing or modeling alone or with 
  3.2   others in any sexual performance or pornographic work if the 
  3.3   person knows or has reason to know that the conduct intended is 
  3.4   a sexual performance or a pornographic work. 
  3.5      Any person who violates this subdivision is guilty of a 
  3.6   felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 
  3.7   five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000 for 
  3.8   the first offense and $20,000 for a second or subsequent 
  3.9   offense, or both. 
  3.10     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.246, 
  3.11  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 3.  [OPERATION OR OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESS.] A person 
  3.13  who owns or operates a business in which a work depicting a 
  3.14  minor in a sexual performance pornographic work, as defined in 
  3.15  this section, is disseminated or reproduced, and who knows the 
  3.16  content and character of the pornographic work disseminated or 
  3.17  reproduced, is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to 
  3.18  imprisonment for not more than five years, or to payment of a 
  3.19  fine of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and $20,000 
  3.20  for a second or subsequent offense, or both. 
  3.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.246, 
  3.22  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 4.  [DISSEMINATION.] A person who, knowing or with 
  3.24  reason to know its content and character, disseminates for 
  3.25  profit a pornographic work depicting a minor in sexual 
  3.26  performance, as defined in this section, is guilty of a felony 
  3.27  and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five 
  3.28  years, or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000 for the 
  3.29  first offense and $20,000 for a second or subsequent offense, or 
  3.30  both. 
  3.31     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.246, is 
  3.32  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 6.  [AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.] It shall be an affirmative 
  3.34  defense to a charge of violating this section that the sexual 
  3.35  performance or pornographic work was produced using only persons 
  3.36  who were 18 years or older and the defendant did not advertise, 
  4.1   promote, present, describe, or distribute the sexual performance 
  4.2   or pornographic work in such a manner as to convey the 
  4.3   impression that it contains a visual depiction of a minor 
  4.4   engaging in sexual conduct. 
  4.5      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.247, 
  4.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.7      Subdivision 1.  [POLICY; PURPOSE.] It is the policy of the 
  4.8   legislature in enacting this section to protect minors from the 
  4.9   physical and psychological damage caused by their being used 
  4.10  in photographic representations of pornographic work depicting 
  4.11  sexual conduct which involves minors.  It is therefore the 
  4.12  intent of the legislature to penalize possession of photographic 
  4.13  representations of pornographic work depicting sexual conduct 
  4.14  which involve minors or appears to involve minors in order to 
  4.15  protect the identity of minors who are victimized by involvement 
  4.16  in the photographic representations pornographic work, and to 
  4.17  protect minors from future involvement in photographic 
  4.18  representations of pornographic work depicting sexual conduct.  
  4.19     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.247, 
  4.20  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.21     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section, the 
  4.22  following terms have the meanings given them:  
  4.23     (a) "Photographic representation" means an original or 
  4.24  reproduction of a film, videotape, videodisc, photograph, 
  4.25  negative, or slide "Pornographic work" has the meaning given to 
  4.26  it in section 617.246.  
  4.27     (b) "Sexual conduct" has the meaning given to it in section 
  4.28  617.246.  
  4.29     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.247, 
  4.30  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  4.31     Subd. 3.  [DISSEMINATION PROHIBITED.] A person who 
  4.32  disseminates a photographic representation of sexual conduct 
  4.33  which involves a minor pornographic work, knowing or with reason 
  4.34  to know its content and character and that an actual minor is an 
  4.35  actor or photographic subject in it, is guilty of a gross 
  4.36  misdemeanor felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not 
  5.1   more than three years and a fine of not more than $5,000 for a 
  5.2   first offense and for not more than five years and a fine of not 
  5.3   more than $10,000 for a second or subsequent offense, or both. 
  5.4      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.247, 
  5.5   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  5.6      Subd. 4.  [POSSESSION PROHIBITED.] A person who has in 
  5.7   possession possesses a photographic representation of sexual 
  5.8   conduct which involves a minor pornographic work or a computer 
  5.9   disk or computer or other electronic storage system containing a 
  5.10  pornographic work, knowing or with reason to know its content 
  5.11  and character and that an actual minor is an actor or 
  5.12  photographic subject in it, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor 
  5.13  felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 
  5.14  three years and a fine of not more than $5,000 for a first 
  5.15  offense and for not more than five years and a fine of not more 
  5.16  than $10,000 for a second or subsequent offense, or both. 
  5.17     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 617.247, is 
  5.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.19     Subd. 8.  [AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.] It shall be an affirmative 
  5.20  defense to a charge of violating this section that the 
  5.21  pornographic work was produced using only persons who were 18 
  5.22  years or older. 
  5.23     Sec. 11.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.24     Sections 1 to 10 are effective August 1, 1999, and apply to 
  5.25  crimes committed on or after that date.