Full Text of HB0952 94th General Assembly
HB0952 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB0952
Introduced 2/2/2005, by Rep. John A. Fritchey SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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720 ILCS 5/11-21 |
from Ch. 38, par. 11-21 |
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Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the distribution of harmful material to a child.
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A BILL FOR
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HB0952 |
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LRB094 09283 RXD 39521 b |
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| AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 11-21 as follows:
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| (720 ILCS 5/11-21) (from Ch. 38, par. 11-21)
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| Sec. 11-21. Harmful material.
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| (a) Elements of
of the Offense.
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| A person who, with knowledge that a person is a child, that | 10 |
| is a person
under 18 years of age, or who fails to exercise | 11 |
| reasonable care in
ascertaining the true age of a child, | 12 |
| knowingly distributes to or sends or
causes to be sent to, or | 13 |
| exhibits to, or offers to distribute or exhibit
any harmful | 14 |
| material to a child, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
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| (b) Definitions.
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| (1) Material is harmful if, to the average person, applying | 17 |
| contemporary
standards, its predominant appeal, taken as a | 18 |
| whole, is to prurient
interest, that is a shameful or morbid | 19 |
| interest in nudity, sex, or
excretion, which goes substantially | 20 |
| beyond customary limits of candor in
description or | 21 |
| representation of such matters, and is material the
redeeming | 22 |
| social importance of which is substantially less than its
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| prurient appeal.
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| (2) Material, as used in this Section means any writing, | 25 |
| picture, record
or other representation or embodiment.
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| (3) Distribute means to transfer possession of, whether | 27 |
| with or without
consideration.
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| (4) Knowingly, as used in this section means having | 29 |
| knowledge of the
contents of the subject matter, or recklessly | 30 |
| failing to exercise
reasonable inspection which would have | 31 |
| disclosed the contents thereof.
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| (c) Interpretation of Evidence.
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HB0952 |
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LRB094 09283 RXD 39521 b |
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| The predominant appeal to prurient interest of the material | 2 |
| shall be
judged with reference to average children of the same | 3 |
| general age of the
child to whom such material was offered, | 4 |
| distributed, sent or exhibited,
unless it appears from the | 5 |
| nature of the matter or the circumstances of its
dissemination, | 6 |
| distribution or exhibition that it is designed for specially
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| susceptible groups, in which case the predominant appeal of the | 8 |
| material
shall be judged with reference to its intended or | 9 |
| probable recipient group.
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| In prosecutions under this section, where circumstances of | 11 |
| production,
presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, | 12 |
| or publicity indicate the
material is being commercially | 13 |
| exploited for the sake of its prurient
appeal, such evidence is | 14 |
| probative with respect to the nature of the
material and can | 15 |
| justify the conclusion that the redeeming social
importance of | 16 |
| the material is in fact substantially less than its prurient
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| appeal.
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| (d) Sentence.
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| Distribution of harmful material in violation of this | 20 |
| Section is a Class
A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent | 21 |
| offense is a Class 4 felony.
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| (e) Affirmative Defenses.
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| (1) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any public | 24 |
| library or any
library operated by an accredited institution of | 25 |
| higher education from
circulating harmful material to any | 26 |
| person under 18 years of age, provided
such circulation is in | 27 |
| aid of a legitimate scientific or educational
purpose, and it | 28 |
| shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution for a
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| violation of this section that the act charged was committed in | 30 |
| aid of
legitimate scientific or educational purposes.
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| (2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any parent from | 32 |
| distributing
to his child any harmful material.
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| (3) Proof that the defendant demanded, was shown and acted | 34 |
| in reliance
upon any of the following documents as proof of the | 35 |
| age of a child, shall
be a defense to any criminal prosecution | 36 |
| under this section: A document
issued by the federal government |
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HB0952 |
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LRB094 09283 RXD 39521 b |
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| or any state, county or municipal
government or subdivision or | 2 |
| agency thereof, including, but not limited to,
a motor vehicle | 3 |
| operator's license, a registration certificate issued under
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| the Federal Selective Service Act or an identification card | 5 |
| issued to a
member of the armed forces.
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| (4) In the event an advertisement of harmful material as | 7 |
| defined in this
section culminates in the sale or distribution | 8 |
| of such harmful material to
a child, under circumstances where | 9 |
| there was no personal confrontation of
the child by the | 10 |
| defendant, his employees or agents, as where the order or
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| request for such harmful material was transmitted by mail, | 12 |
| telephone, or
similar means of communication, and delivery of | 13 |
| such harmful material to
the child was by mail, freight, or | 14 |
| similar means of transport, it shall be
a defense in any | 15 |
| prosecution for a violation of this section that the
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| advertisement contained the following statement, or a | 17 |
| statement
substantially similar thereto, and that the | 18 |
| defendant required the
purchaser to certify that he was not | 19 |
| under 18 years of age and that the
purchaser falsely stated | 20 |
| that he was not under 18 years of age: "NOTICE: It
is unlawful | 21 |
| for any person under 18 years of age to purchase the matter
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| herein advertised. Any person under 18 years of age who falsely | 23 |
| states that
he is not under 18 years of age for the purpose of | 24 |
| obtaining the material
advertised herein, is guilty of a Class | 25 |
| B misdemeanor under the laws of the
State of Illinois."
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| (f) Child Falsifying Age.
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| Any person under 18 years of age who falsely states, either | 28 |
| orally or in
writing, that he is not under the age of 18 years, | 29 |
| or who presents or
offers to any person any evidence of age and | 30 |
| identity which is false or not
actually his own for the purpose | 31 |
| of ordering, obtaining, viewing, or
otherwise procuring or | 32 |
| attempting to procure or view any harmful material,
is guilty | 33 |
| of a Class B misdemeanor.
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| (Source: P.A. 77-2638.)
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