California Penal Code Section 313 - 313.5 makes it illegal to make available to a minor any "harmful material," which includes written material that depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way. There are other laws that probably apply, and you should discuss your specific situation with your own lawyer privately. Depending on the circumstances of how you are getting the materials to the underage people and your relationship to them or your job position, you might be committing different acts of child sexual abuse, child grooming, or other such acts.Sometimes an adult tries to lure a child into sexual activity by showing them sexual materials or leaving it around where the child will find it. This is illegal. Before you get involved in such serious things, you should get solid legal advice. There really is no legitimate reason that I can think of for an adult to be making indecent sexual materials available to a child, and there is a whole panoply of laws under which such an act might fall.Also, if your materials have any visual depictions of a sexual nature of anyone under age 18, you are most likely creating child pornography, which is an extremely serious crime under both federal and state law. The federal law and different state laws define child pornography differently, and some states have a rather broad definition. Keep in mind that if something is on the internet, it is in every state. It is illegal to create or possess child pornography, even for your own personal use. You say your materials do not have pictures, but you should still speak confidentially with your own lawyer. If the materials have words that portray sexual activities of a person under age 18, it might still be obscenity or might be child pornography in some locations, and will surely be considered indecent or harmful materials. If you want to create sexual materials, your safest bet is to create materials that are not obscene, which is a local standard, and that do not in any way portray anyone under age 18, and make the materials available only to those over age 18. Before doing so, however, you should discuss in detail your exact plan with a lawyer, and be sure you are acting legally.
Answered on Oct 16th, 2012 at 3:50 PM