SSB 3216 (LSB 5403DP (11) 83)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to dissemination by a young person of material depicting a sex act or nudity and sexual exploitation of a minor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  728.2A  Dissemination by young persons of material depicting a sex act or nudity.
   1.  Any person fourteen through eighteen years of age who knowingly disseminates to another person fourteen through eighteen years of age material depicting either or both persons, one of whom is a minor, engaged in a sex act or in a state of full or partial nudity, as defined in section 709.21, commits a simple misdemeanor.
   2.  A person convicted under this section shall not be required to register as a sex offender under chapter 692A.

    Sec. 2.  Section 728.12, Code 2009, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  A violation of this section does not apply to a person fourteen through eighteen years of age if all of the following circumstances apply:
   a.  The material was disseminated to a person fourteen through eighteen years of age.
   b.  The material depicts the sender, recipient, or both, one of whom is a minor, engaged in a prohibited sex act or in the simulation of a prohibited sex act.
   c.  The material was knowingly created with the consent of the persons depicted.
   d.  The sender of the material knows or reasonably believes the material would not be offensive to the recipient of the material.
   e.  The person does not further disseminate or exhibit the material if the material depicts another person.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to dissemination by a young person of material depicting a sex act or nudity and sexual exploitation of a minor.
   The bill grants discretion to a prosecutor to charge a person 14 through 18 years of age with a simple misdemeanor under new Code section 708.2A, for disseminating to another person 14 through 18 years of age material depicting either or both persons, one of whom is a minor, engaged in a sex act or in a state of full or partial nudity. A person convicted under new Code section 708.2A is not required to register as a sex offender and is not subject to a special sentence.
   Under current law, it is a serious misdemeanor to knowingly disseminate obscene material to a minor, and such a conviction requires the person to register as a sex offender.
   A sex act is defined in Code section 728.1 to mean any sexual contact, actual or simulated, either natural or deviant, between two or more persons, or between a person and an animal, by penetration of the penis into the vagina or anus, or by contact between the mouth or tongue and genitalia or anus, or by contact between a finger of one person and the genitalia of another person or by use of artificial sexual organs or substitutes therefore in contact with the genitalia or anus.
   Full or partial nudity is defined to mean the showing of any part of the human genitals or pubic area or buttocks, or any part of the nipple of the breast of a female, with less than fully opaque covering.
   Under the bill a person 14 through 18 years of age is not guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor pursuant to Code section 728.12 if all the following circumstances apply: the material was disseminated to a person 14 through 18 years of age; the material depicts the sender, recipient, or both, one of whom is a minor, engaged in a prohibited sex act or in the simulation of a prohibited sex act; the material was knowingly created with the consent of the persons depicted; the sender of the material knows or reasonably believes the material would not be offensive to the recipient of the material; and the person does not further disseminate or exhibit the material if the material depicts another person.
   A person who commits sexual exploitation of a minor commits an aggravated misdemeanor up to a class “C” felony, depending on the facts and circumstances of the particular offense. The person is also required to register as a sex offender under Code chapter 692A and is subject to a special sentence as provided in Code chapter 903B.