Borough of Duncannon, PA Chapter 150 OBSCENE AND LEWD MATERIAL

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Duncannon 12-19-1989 by Ord. No. 259 (Ch. XIV, Part 4, of the 1970 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 150-1 Definitions; word usage.

A. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

AUDIENCE

One or more persons who are permitted to view a performance for a valuable consideration or in or from a public place.

DISPLAY PUBLICLY

Exposing, placing, posting, exhibiting or in any other fashion displaying in any location, whether public or private, material or a performance in such manner that it may be readily seen and its content or character distinguished by viewing it in or from a public place or vehicle.

DISSEMINATE

Manufacture, issue, publish, sell, lend, distribute, transmit, broadcast, exhibit or present material, or offer or agree to do the same, or to have in one's possession with intent to do the same.

LEWD MATERIAL

Any material or performance in which all of the following elements are present:

(1) Considered as a whole, by the average person, applying the contemporary community standards of the Borough of Duncannon, it appeals to the prurient interest in sex; and

(2) It depicts, describes or represents in a patently offensive way sexual conduct, as hereinafter defined; and

(3) Taken as whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, educational or scientific values.

MATERIAL

Any printed matter, visual representation, or sound recording, including but not limited to books, magazines, motion-picture films, video, pamphlets, newspapers, pictures, photographs, drawings, three-dimensional forms, sculptures, and phonograph, tape or wire recordings.

NUDITY

Uncovered, or less than opaquely covered, postpubertal human genitals or pubic area, the postpubertal human female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola or the covered human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. For the purpose of this definition, a female breast is considered uncovered if the nipple only or the nipple and the areola only are covered.

PANDER

Advertise or propagandize in connection with the sale of material, the offering of a service, or the presentation or exhibition of a performance by appealing to the prurient interest of potential customers.

PERFORMANCE

Any live or reproduced exhibition, including but not limited to any play, motion-picture film, video, dance or appearance presented to or performed before an audience.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other legal entity.

PRURIENT INTEREST

Desire or craving for sexual stimulation or gratification. In determining prurient interest, the material or performance shall be judged with reference to average persons, unless it appears from the character of the material or performance that it is designed to appeal to the prurient interest of a particular group of persons, including but not limited to homosexuals or sadomasochists. In that case, it shall be judged with reference to the particular group for which it was designed.

PUBLIC PLACE OR VEHICLE

Any street, alley, park, boulevard, school or other public property, or any rental hall, liquor establishment, store, place of public accommodation, or other private property in the Borough of Duncannon generally frequented by the public for the purposes of education, recreation, amusement, entertainment, sport, shopping or travel.

SADOMASOCHISTIC ABUSE

Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude or clad in undergarments or in a sexually revealing or bizarre costume, or the condition of such person being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained, in an apparent act of sexual stimulation or gratification.

SEXUAL CONDUCT

(1) Masturbation;

(2) Sexual intercourse, whether genital-genital, oral-genital, oral-anal, or anal-genital;

(3) Any erotic fondling or touching of the covered or uncovered genitals, buttocks, pubic area, or any part of the breasts of the female, whether the conduct described in Subsections (1) through (3) is engaged in alone or between members of the same or opposite sex, or between humans and animals or humans and inanimate objects;

(4) Actual or simulated display or exhibition of the human pubic area or genitals or any part thereof;

(5) Sexual excitement, as hereinafter defined; or

(6) Sadomasochistic abuse as herein described.

SEXUAL EXCITEMENT

The facial expressions, movements, utterances or any other physical responses of a human male or female, whether alone or with others, whether clothed or not, who is in an apparent state of sexual stimulation or arousal, or experiencing the physical or sensual reactions of humans engaging in or witnessing sexual conduct.

B. As used in this chapter, the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter.

§ 150-2 Disseminating, promoting or displaying lewd material.

It shall be unlawful for any person to disseminate and/or promote and/or display publicly lewd material in the Borough of Duncannon. A person shall be guilty of the offense of disseminating and/or promoting and/or displaying publicly lewd material if, knowing its contents and character, he:

A. Disseminates or causes to be disseminated any lewd material in or from a public place or vehicle or for valuable consideration; or has in his possession any lewd material with intent to so disseminate; or knowingly allows the use of any business, building, vehicle or place owned, leased, conducted or managed by him for such dissemination of lewd material; or

B. Sells an admission ticket or pass to premises where there is being exhibited or is about to be exhibited lewd material or a performance which contains lewd material; or

C. Admits, by accepting a ticket or pass, a person to premises where there is being exhibited or is about to be exhibited material or a performance which contains lewd material; or

D. Produces, presents, directs, or knowingly allows the use of any business, building, vehicle or place owned, leased, conducted or managed by him to be used for a performance which contains lewd material before an audience; or

E. Participates in that portion of a live performance before an audience which makes the performance contain lewd material; or

F. Panders, displays publicly, or disseminates door to door any lewd material, or causes such pandering, public display or door-to-door dissemination.

§ 150-3 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 3-17-1992 by Ord. No. 277]

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, for every such violation, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $600, and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided that each day on which a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 150-4 Additional remedies.

The Solicitor of the Borough of Duncannon may institute proceedings in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of the 41st Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Perry County Branch, for the purpose of enjoining any violation or potential violation of this chapter.