(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Bulletin board system" means a computer data and file service
that is accessed by telephone line to store and transmit
information. (2) "CD-ROM" means a compact disc with read only memory which has
the capacity to store audio, video, and written materials and is
used by computers to reveal the above-said material. (3) "Electronically furnishes" means: (A) To make available by electronic storage device, including
floppy disks and other magnetic storage devices, or by CD-ROM;
or (B) To make available by allowing access to information stored
in a computer, including making material available by operating
a computer bulletin board. (4) "Harmful to minors" means that quality of description or
representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct,
sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse, when it: (A) Taken as a whole, predominantly appeals to the prurient,
shameful, or morbid interest of minors; (B) Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult
community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material
for minors; and (C) Is, when taken as a whole, lacking in serious literary,
artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. (5) "Minor" means an unmarried person younger than 18 years of
age. (6) "Sadomasochistic abuse" means flagellation or torture by or
upon a person who is nude or clad in undergarments or in revealing
or bizarre costume or the condition of being fettered, bound, or
otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed. (7) "Sexual conduct" means human masturbation, sexual intercourse,
or any touching of the genitals, pubic areas, or buttocks of the
human male or female or the breasts of the female, whether alone
or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans
and animals in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or
gratification. (8) "Sexual excitement" means the condition of human male or
female genitals or the breasts of the female when in a state of
sexual stimulation. (b) A person commits the crime of electronically furnishing obscene
materials to minors if: (1) Knowing or having good reason to know the character of the
material furnished, the person electronically furnishes to an
individual whom the person knows or should have known is a minor: (A) Any picture, photograph, drawing, or similar visual
representation or image of a person or portion of a human body
which depicts sexually explicit nudity, sexual conduct, or
sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors; or (B) Any written or aural matter that contains material of the
nature described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or
contains explicit verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of
sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse; (2) The offensive portions of the material electronically
furnished to the minor are not merely an incidental part of an
otherwise nonoffending whole; (3) The material furnished to the minor, taken as a whole, lacks
serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; and (4) The material furnished to the minor, taken as a whole, is
harmful to minors in that it appeals to and incites prurient
interest. (c) Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. |