QUESTION

Is it illegal for an underage personnel to read my content if I am a writer of sexual material?

Asked on Oct 15th, 2012 on Entertainment Law - California
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Letโ€™s say for instance Iโ€™m a writer. My material is sexual. Is it illegal for an underage personnel to read my content? (If) have no pictures but wanted different opinions on this hobby. Some of content is sexual and suggestive.
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3 ANSWERS

Real Estate Attorney serving Honolulu, HI at Zahaby Law Offices
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Yes.
Answered on May 21st, 2013 at 2:35 AM

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Entrepreneurial Business Law Attorney serving Portland, OR at Abts Law LLC
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Dear Questioner, This is the kind of question I only like to answer when I've seen the material. You know pornography "when you see it". So generally: You cannot show pornography to a minor. Sexually explicit materials, likewise, should not be shown to a minor, particularly when you are in a possession of authority over the minor. The issue isn't so much with a minor reading something with sexual innuendo (the classic example of a teenager with the smuggled copy of Playboy comes to mind), the issue here is with you, an adult person in a position of authority over the minor, giving the minor the material. Again, this is just very common-sense, generalized advice. Really, it depends very much on your material. But the safest course? Steer clear! You're headed for trouble. Don't bait a jury into having to make a fact-based finding whether your material is sexually explicit enough to find you guilty and get you labelled as a sex offender. Because the jury may. Just don't go there. Go find an 18-year-old to review your material. He or she will have the brain of a child, but the legal rights of an adult. Take care,
Answered on Oct 17th, 2012 at 10:22 AM

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Susan Marie Basko
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

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