§ 13A-12-200.5 — Material Harmful to Minors - Distribution, Possession with Intent to Distribute, Display for Sale, Etc., Prohibited; Penalty; Affirmative Defenses; Operation of Adult-Only Enterprise Near Place Frequented by Minors; Exceptions; Disposition of Fines

Alabama § 13A-12-200.5

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 13A: Criminal Code
• Ch. 12: Offenses Against Public Health and Morals
• Art. 4: Obscenity and Related Offenses
• Div. 5: Alabama Anti-obscenity Enforcement Act

Text

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or recklessly distribute to a minor, possess with intent to distribute to a minor, or offer or agree to distribute to a minor any material which is harmful to minors. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and may also be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year.
(2)a. It shall be unlawful for any person to openly and knowingly display for sale at any business establishment frequented by minors, or any other place where minors are or may be invited as part of the general public, any material which is harmful to minors or to hire or employ a minor in an establishment that displays or disseminates material containing nudity or sexual conduct; provided, however, that a person shall not be deemed to have violated the provisions of this subsection, relating to display for sale, by displaying material harmful to minors in sealed wrappers or behind opaque covers commonly known as “blinder racks” so that in either event the material is located at a height of not less than five and one-half feet from the floor, the lower two-thirds of the material is concealed from view, the content of such material is not available for inspection by minors, and other reasonable efforts are made to prevent minors from perusing the material. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and may also be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year. Any person who hires or employs a person in violation of this subsection is guilty of a Class C felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
b. This section shall not be applicable to employment of minors in establishments that sell or rent video cassettes or films that contain nudity or sexual acts if the cover of the video cassettes or films does not contain a depiction of nudity or sexual acts and the video cassettes or films are displayed in a form that cannot be viewed without electrical or mechanical equipment and the equipment is not being used to produce a visual depiction of the material contained in the video cassette or film.
(3) The following shall be affirmative defenses to a charge of violating this section as it may relate to a particular minor:
a. The minor exhibited to the defendant, his agent or employee a draft card, driver’s license, birth certificate, marriage license or other governmental document purporting to show that such minor was not an unmarried person under the age of 18 years and the person to whom the document was exhibited did not otherwise have reasonable cause to believe that the minor was an unmarried person under the age of 18.
b. A parent or legal guardian accompanied the minor or consented to the act charged.
c. The defendant is the parent or legal guardian of the minor.
d. The act charged was done for a bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial or law enforcement purpose.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an adult bookstore, adult movie house, adult video store, or other form of adult-only enterprise within 1,000 feet of a church, place of worship, church bookstore, public park, public housing project, daycare center, public or private school, college, recreation center, skating rink, video arcade, public swimming pool, private residence, or any other place frequented by minors. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and may also be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year.
(5) This subsection shall not be applicable to any video rental store that does not engage predominantly in and whose principle business is not the sale or rental of adult material, if the material is maintained in compliance with Section 13A-12-200.5(2), or is located in an area that is restricted to adults.
(6) If a person is held under this section in the county jail, one-half of any fines collected and due to be deposited to the State General Fund for violations of this section shall be paid by the Comptroller to the general fund of the county where the person is held for the operation of the county jail.

Legislative History

(Acts 1989, No. 89-402, p. 791, §7; Act 98-467, p. 893, §6.)