1999 State of Wyoming 99LSO-0457
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0189
Sexual exploitation of children.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Rose, T. and Johnson, W. and
Senator(s) Erb, Meier and Roberts
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; establishing crimes
2 relating to the sexual exploitation of children; providing
3 legislative findings; providing penalties; providing
4 definitions; and providing for an effective date.
5
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
7
8 Section 1. W.S. 6-4-303 is created to read:
9
10 6-4-303. Sexual exploitation of children; penalties;
11 definitions.
12
13 (a) A person commits sexual exploitation of a child
14 if, for any purpose, he knowingly:
15
16 (i) Causes, induces, entices or permits a child
17 to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct
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1 for any commercial purpose or the making of any sexually
2 exploitive material;
3
4 (ii) Prepares, arranges for, publishes, including
5 publishing through digital or electronic means, produces,
6 promotes, makes, sells, finances, offers, exhibits,
7 advertises, deals in or distributes, including distributing
8 through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitive
9 material;
10
11 (iii) Possesses or controls any sexually
12 exploitive material for the purpose, except that this
13 paragraph shall not apply to:
14
15 (A) Peace officers or court personnel in
16 their performance of their official duties;
17
18 (B) Physicians, psychologists, therapists or
19 social workers, provided such persons are duly licensed in
20 Wyoming and the persons possess such materials in the course
21 of a bona fide treatment or evaluation program at the
22 treatment or evaluation site.
23
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1 (iv) Causes, induces, entices or permits a child
2 to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct
3 for the purpose of producing a performance.
4
5 (b) Although the simple possession of any sexually
6 exploitive material is prohibited, a presumption of
7 commercial purpose is created by the possession of three (3)
8 or more identical copies of any sexually exploitive
9 material.
10
11 (c) The sexual exploitation of a child is a felony
12 punishable by not less than four (4) years, nor more than
13 twelve (12) years imprisonment, a fine of not more than five
14 thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
15
16 (d) The sexual exploitation of a child by possession
17 of sexually exploitive material pursuant to paragraph
18 (a)(iii) of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by
19 imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year, a fine of not more
20 than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both. A
21 second or subsequent conviction under this section is a
22 felony punishable by not less than two (2) years, nor more
23 than four (4) years imprisonment, a fine of not more than
24 two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), or both.
25
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1 (e) As used in this section:
2
3 (i) "Child" means a person under the age of
4 eighteen (18) years;
5
6 (ii) "Commercial purpose" means the intention,
7 objective, anticipation or expectation of monetary gain or
8 other material consideration, compensation, remuneration or
9 profit;
10
11 (iii) "Erotic fondling" means touching a person's
12 clothed or unclothed genitals or pubic area, developing or
13 undeveloped genitals or pubic area, if the person is a
14 child, buttocks, breasts, or developing or undeveloped
15 breast area, if the person is a child, for the purpose of
16 real or simulated overt sexual gratification or stimulation
17 of one (1) or more of the persons involved. "Erotic
18 fondling" shall not be construed to include physical
19 contact, even if affectionate, which is not for the purpose
20 of real or simulated overt sexual gratification or
21 stimulation on one (1) or more of the persons involved;
22
23 (iv) "Erotic nudity" means the display of the
24 human male or female genitals or pubic area, the undeveloped
25 or developing genitals or pubic area of the human male or
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1 female child, the human breasts, or the undeveloped or
2 developing breast area of the human child, for the purpose
3 of real or simulated overt sexual gratification or
4 stimulation of one (1) or more of the persons involved;
5
6 (v) "Explicit sexual conduct" means sexual
7 intercourse, erotic fondling, erotic nudity, masturbation,
8 sadomasochism or sexual excitement;
9
10 (vi) "Masturbation" means the real or simulated
11 touching, rubbing or otherwise stimulating of a person's own
12 clothed or unclothed genitals or pubic area, developing or
13 undeveloped genitals or pubic area, if the person is a
14 child, buttocks, breasts, or developing or undeveloped
15 breast area, if the person is a child, by manual
16 manipulation or self-induced or with an artificial
17 instrument, for the purpose of real or simulated overt
18 sexual gratification or arousal of the person;
19
20 (vii) "Sadomasochism" means:
21
22 (A) Real or simulated flagellation or
23 torture for the purpose of real or simulated sexual
24 stimulation or gratification; or
25
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1 (B) The real or simulated condition of being
2 fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained for
3 sexual stimulation or gratification of a person.
4
5 (viii) "Sexual excitement" means the real or
6 simulated condition of human male or female genitals when in
7 a state of real or simulated overt sexual stimulation or
8 arousal;
9
10 (ix) "Sexual intercourse" means real or simulated
11 intercourse, whether genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-
12 genital or oral-genital, between persons of the same or
13 opposite sex, or between a human and an animal, or with an
14 artificial genital;
15
16 (x) "Sexually exploitive material" means any
17 photograph, motion picture, videotape, print, negative,
18 slide or other mechanically, electronically, chemically or
19 digitally reproduced visual material that depicts a child
20 engaged in, participating in, observing or being used for
21 explicit sexual conduct.
22
23 Section 2. W.S. 6-4-403(b)(v)(C) and (D) is amended to
24 read:
25
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1 6-4-403. Abandoning or endangering children;
2 penalties; "child"; disclosure or publication of identifying
3 information; "minor victim".
4
5 (b) No person shall knowingly:
6
7 (v) Cause, encourage, aid or contribute to the
8 endangering of a child's health, welfare or morals, by
9 using, employing or permitting a child:
10
11 (C) To be exhibited for the purpose of
12 displaying any deformity of a child, except to physicians,
13 nurses or other health professionals;or
14
15 (D) In a place used for prostitution.; or
16
17 Section 3. W.S. 6-4-403(b)(v)(E) is repealed.
18
19 Section 4. Legislative findings.
20
21 (a) The legislature finds and declares that:
22
23 (i) The sexual exploitation of children
24 constitutes a wrongful invasion of the child's right of
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1 privacy and results in social, developmental and emotional
2 injury to the child;
3
4 (ii) A child below eighteen (18) years of age is
5 incapable of giving informed consent to the use of his body
6 for a sexual purpose; and
7
8 (iii) To protect children from sexual
9 exploitation it is necessary to prohibit the production of
10 materials which involves or is derived from such
11 exploitation and to exclude all such materials from the
12 channels of trade and commerce.
13
14 (b) The legislature further finds and declares that:
15
16 (i) The mere possession of any sexually
17 exploitive material results in continuing victimization of
18 children by the fact that such material is a permanent
19 record of an act of sexual abuse of a child;
20
21 (ii) Each time such material is shown or viewed,
22 the child is harmed;
23
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1 (iii) Such material is used to break down the
2 will and resistance of other children to encourage them to
3 participate in similar acts of sexual abuse;
4
5 (iv) Laws banning the production and distribution
6 of such material are insufficient to halt the abuse;
7
8 (v) To stop the sexual exploitation and abuse of
9 children it is necessary for the state to ban the possession
10 of any sexually exploitive materials; and
11
12 (vi) The state has a compelling interest in
13 outlawing the possession of any sexually exploitive
14 materials in order to protect society as a whole, and
15 particularly the privacy, health and emotional welfare of
16 children.
17
18 Section 5. This act is effective immediately upon
19 completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
20 as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
21 Constitution.
22
23 (END)
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