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91_HB2821
LRB9105275RCks
1 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by changing
2 Section 11-21.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
6 changing Section 11-21 as follows:
7 (720 ILCS 5/11-21) (from Ch. 38, par. 11-21)
8 Sec. 11-21. Harmful material.
9 (a) Elements of the Offense.
10 A person who, with knowledge that a person is a child,
11 that is a person under 18 years of age, or who fails to
12 exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the true age of a
13 child, knowingly distributes to or sends or causes to be sent
14 to, or exhibits to, or offers to distribute or exhibit any
15 harmful material to a child, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
16 (b) Definitions.
17 (1) Material is harmful if, to the average person,
18 applying contemporary standards, its predominant appeal,
19 taken as a whole, is to prurient interest, that is a shameful
20 or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion, which goes
21 substantially beyond customary limits of candor in
22 description or representation of such matters, and is
23 material the redeeming social importance of which is
24 substantially less than its prurient appeal.
25 (2) Material, as used in this Section means any writing,
26 picture, record or other representation or embodiment.
27 (3) Distribute means to transfer possession of, whether
28 with or without consideration.
29 (4) Knowingly, as used in this section means having
30 knowledge of the contents of the subject matter, or
31 recklessly failing to exercise reasonable inspection which
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1 would have disclosed the contents thereof.
2 (c) Interpretation of Evidence.
3 The predominant appeal to prurient interest of the
4 material shall be judged with reference to average children
5 of the same general age of the child to whom such material
6 was offered, distributed, sent or exhibited, unless it
7 appears from the nature of the matter or the circumstances of
8 its dissemination, distribution or exhibition that it is
9 designed for specially susceptible groups, in which case the
10 predominant appeal of the material shall be judged with
11 reference to its intended or probable recipient group.
12 In prosecutions under this section, where circumstances
13 of production, presentation, sale, dissemination,
14 distribution, or publicity indicate the material is being
15 commercially exploited for the sake of its prurient appeal,
16 such evidence is probative with respect to the nature of the
17 material and can justify the conclusion that the redeeming
18 social importance of the material is in fact substantially
19 less than its prurient appeal.
20 (d) Sentence.
21 Distribution of harmful material in violation of this
22 Section is a Class A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent
23 offense is a Class 4 felony.
24 (e) Affirmative Defenses.
25 (1) Nothing in this section prohibits shall prohibit any
26 public library or any library operated by an accredited
27 institution of higher education from circulating harmful
28 material to any person under 18 years of age, provided such
29 circulation is in aid of a legitimate scientific or
30 educational purpose, and it shall be an affirmative defense
31 in any prosecution for a violation of this section that the
32 act charged was committed in aid of legitimate scientific or
33 educational purposes.
34 (2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any parent
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1 from distributing to his child any harmful material.
2 (3) Proof that the defendant demanded, was shown and
3 acted in reliance upon any of the following documents as
4 proof of the age of a child, shall be a defense to any
5 criminal prosecution under this section: A document issued by
6 the federal government or any state, county or municipal
7 government or subdivision or agency thereof, including, but
8 not limited to, a motor vehicle operator's license, a
9 registration certificate issued under the Federal Selective
10 Service Act or an identification card issued to a member of
11 the armed forces.
12 (4) In the event an advertisement of harmful material as
13 defined in this section culminates in the sale or
14 distribution of such harmful material to a child, under
15 circumstances where there was no personal confrontation of
16 the child by the defendant, his employees or agents, as where
17 the order or request for such harmful material was
18 transmitted by mail, telephone, or similar means of
19 communication, and delivery of such harmful material to the
20 child was by mail, freight, or similar means of transport, it
21 shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this
22 section that the advertisement contained the following
23 statement, or a statement substantially similar thereto, and
24 that the defendant required the purchaser to certify that he
25 was not under 18 years of age and that the purchaser falsely
26 stated that he was not under 18 years of age: "NOTICE: It is
27 unlawful for any person under 18 years of age to purchase the
28 matter herein advertised. Any person under 18 years of age
29 who falsely states that he is not under 18 years of age for
30 the purpose of obtaining the material advertised herein, is
31 guilty of a Class B misdemeanor under the laws of the State
32 of Illinois."
33 (f) Child Falsifying Age.
34 Any person under 18 years of age who falsely states,
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1 either orally or in writing, that he is not under the age of
2 18 years, or who presents or offers to any person any
3 evidence of age and identity which is false or not actually
4 his own for the purpose of ordering, obtaining, viewing, or
5 otherwise procuring or attempting to procure or view any
6 harmful material, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
7 (Source: P.A. 77-2638.)