Bill Text: MS HB657 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Child sex dolls; prohibit possession, transport and/or trafficking of.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-05 - Died In Committee [HB657 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-HB657-Introduced.html
2024 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Ford (73rd), Hulum
House Bill 657
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR CRIMES RELATED TO POSSESSION AND TRAFFICKING OF CHILD SEX DOLLS; TO PROHIBIT THE ONLINE SALES AND ADVERTISEMENT OF; TO CREATE PENALTIES FOR THE CRIME; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-5-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR DISSEMINATION OF SEXUALLY ORIENTED MATERIAL TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-5-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE CRIME OF EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-5-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH LISTS THE PROHIBITIONS AGAINST THE EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-5-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES PENALTIES FOR THE CRIME OF EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) For purposes of this act, the term "child sex doll" means an anatomically correct doll, mannequin or robot that has the features of, or features that resemble an infant or a child who is under twelve (12) years of age, and is intended to be used for sexual stimulation, gratification or perversion.
(2) (a) Any person who intentionally or knowingly possesses a child sex doll shall be guilty of the misdemeanor crime of possession of a child sex doll and upon conviction, shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), but not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(b) In a prosecution for a violation of this subsection, unless satisfactorily explained, the possession of two (2) or more child sex dolls may give rise to an inference that a person intends to commit trafficking a child sex doll.
(3) Any person who knowingly manufactures, distributes, sells online or in person, transfers, offers to sell, advertises online or in person, provide, ship, deliver for shipment, offer to deliver for shipment or possess a child sex doll in any manner with the intent to manufacture, distribute, sell, ship or transfer a child sex doll shall be guilty of the felony crime of child sex doll trafficking, and upon conviction shall be punished for each offense by a fine not less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed three (3) years, or both.
(4) Any person who knowingly transports a child sex doll into this state with the intent to distribute, sell or transfer the child sex doll shall be guilty of the felony crime of importing a child sex doll and upon conviction shall be punished for each offense by a fine not less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed three (3) years, or both.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a common carrier transporting a container with a child sex doll if the common carrier does not have knowledge of the container's contents.
SECTION 2. Section 97-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-27. (1) Any person who intentionally and knowingly disseminates sexually oriented material to any person under eighteen (18) years of age shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined for each offense not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or be imprisoned for not more than one (1) year in the county jail, or be punished by both such fine and imprisonment. A person disseminates sexually oriented material within the meaning of this section if he:
(a) Sells, delivers or provides, or offers or agrees to sell, deliver or provide, any sexually oriented writing, picture, record or other representation or embodiment that is sexually oriented; or
(b) Presents or directs a sexually oriented play, dance or other performance or participates directly in that portion thereof which makes it sexually oriented; or
(c) Exhibits, presents, rents, sells, delivers or provides, or offers or agrees to exhibit, present, rent or to provide any sexually oriented still or motion picture, film, filmstrip or projection slide, or sound recording, sound tape or sound track or any matter or material of whatever form which is a representation, embodiment, performance or publication that is sexually oriented.
(2) For purposes of this section, any material is sexually oriented if the material contains representations or descriptions, actual or simulated, of masturbation, sodomy, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals or female breasts, sadomasochistic abuse (for the purpose of sexual stimulation or gratification), homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, sexual intercourse, or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or the breast or breasts of a female for the purpose of sexual stimulation, gratification or perversion.
(3) (a) A person is guilty of computer luring when:
(i) Knowing the character and content of any communication of sexually oriented material, he intentionally uses any computer communication system allowing the input, output, examination or transfer of computer data or computer programs from one (1) computer to another, to initiate or engage in such communication with a person under the age of eighteen (18); and
(ii) By means of such communication he importunes, invites or induces a person under the age of eighteen (18) years to engage in sexual intercourse, deviant sexual intercourse or sexual contact with him, or to engage in a sexual performance, obscene sexual performance or sexual conduct for his benefit.
(b) A person who engages in the conduct proscribed by this subsection (3) is presumed to do so with knowledge of the character and content of the material.
(c) In any prosecution for computer luring, it shall be a defense that:
(i) The defendant made a reasonable effort to ascertain the true age of the minor and was unable to do so as a result of actions taken by the minor; or
(ii) The defendant has taken, in good faith, reasonable, effective and appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or prevent access by minors to the materials prohibited, which may involve any appropriate measures to restrict minors from access to such communications, including any method which is feasible under available technology; or
(iii) The defendant has restricted access to such materials by requiring use of a verified credit card, debit account, adult access code or adult personal identification number; or
(iv) The defendant has in good faith established a mechanism such that the labeling, segregation or other mechanism enables such material to be automatically blocked or screened by software or other capabilities reasonably available to responsible adults wishing to effect such blocking or screening and the defendant has not otherwise solicited minors not subject to such screening or blocking capabilities to access that material or to circumvent any such screening or blocking.
(d) In any prosecution for computer luring:
(i) No person shall be held to have violated this subsection (3) solely for providing access or connection to or from a facility, system, or network not under that person's control, including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, access software or other related capabilities that are incidental to providing such access or connection that do not include the creation of the content of the communication.
(ii) No employer shall be held liable for the actions of an employee or agent unless the employee's or agent's conduct is within the scope of his employment or agency or the employer, having knowledge of such conduct, authorizes or ratifies such conduct, or recklessly disregards such conduct.
(iii) The limitations provided by this paragraph (d) shall not be applicable to a person who is a conspirator with an entity actively involved in the creation or knowing distribution of communications that violate such provisions, or who knowingly advertises the availability of such communications, nor to a person who provides access or connection to a facility, system or network engaged in the violation of such provisions that is owned or controlled by such person.
(e) Computer luring is a felony, and any person convicted thereof shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed three (3) years and by a fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
(4) Investigation and prosecution of a defendant under this section does not preclude prosecution of the defendant for a violation of other applicable criminal laws, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act, Section 97-3-54 et seq.
SECTION 3. Section 97-5-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-31. As used in Sections 97-5-33 through 97-5-37, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this section:
(a) "Child" means any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen (18) years.
(b) "Sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated:
(i) Oral genital contact, oral anal contact, or sexual intercourse as defined in Section 97-3-65, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
(ii) Bestiality;
(iii) Masturbation;
(iv) Sadistic or masochistic abuse;
(v) Lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person; or
(vi) Fondling or other erotic touching of the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, anus or breast.
(c) "Producing" means producing, directing, manufacturing, issuing, publishing or advertising.
(d) "Visual depiction" includes, without limitation, developed or undeveloped film and video tape or other visual unaltered reproductions by computer.
(e) "Computer" has the meaning given in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030.
(f) "Simulated" means any depicting of the genitals or rectal areas that gives the appearance of sexual conduct or incipient sexual conduct.
SECTION 4. Section 97-5-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-33. (1) No person shall, by any means including computer, cause, solicit or knowingly permit any child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or in the simulation of sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct.
(2) No person shall, by any means including computer, photograph, film, video tape or otherwise depict or record a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct or in the simulation of sexually explicit conduct.
(3) No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly send, transport, transmit, ship, mail or receive any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(4) No person shall, by any means including computer, receive with intent to distribute, distribute for sale, sell or attempt to sell in any manner any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(5) No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly possess or knowingly access with intent to view any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(6) No person shall, by any means, including computer, knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, coerce, or order a child to meet with the defendant or any other person for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
(7) No person shall by any means, including computer, knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, coerce or order a child to produce any visual depiction of adult sexual conduct or any sexually explicit conduct.
(8) The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer posed as a child or was involved in any other manner in the detection and investigation of an offense under this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.
(9) For purposes of determining jurisdiction, the offense is committed in this state if all or part of the conduct described in this section occurs in the State of Mississippi or if the transmission that constitutes the offense either originates in this state or is received in this state.
SECTION 5. Section 97-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-5-35. Any person who violates any provision of Section 97-5-33 shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be fined not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) and shall be imprisoned for not less than five (5) years nor more than forty (40) years. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of Section 97-5-33 shall be fined not less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) nor more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and shall be confined in the custody of the Department of Corrections for life or such lesser term as the court may determine, but not less than twenty (20) years.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.
