South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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Bill 4437


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 16-15-410, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE OFFENSE OF THIRD DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN STATE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL WHO ARE IN POSSESSION OF MATERIAL CONTAINING VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF MINORS ENGAGING IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY DURING THE COURSE OF AN INVESTIGATION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 16-15-410 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 208 of 2004, is further amended to read:

"Section 16-15-410.    (A)    An individual commits the offense of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor if, knowing the character or content of the material, he possesses material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity.

(B)    In a prosecution underpursuant to this section, the trier of fact may infer that a participant in sexual activity depicted as a minor through its title, text, visual representation, or otherwise is a minor.

(C)    A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years.

(D)    This section does not apply to an employee of the Department of Corrections, Attorney General's office, State Law Enforcement Division, or to a sworn law enforcement officer who, while acting within his official capacity in the course of an investigation, is in possession of material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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