A.
Elements of the offense. A person commits an obscenity when, with
knowledge of the nature or content thereof or recklessly failing to
exercise reasonable inspection which would have disclosed the nature
or content thereof, he:
(1)
Sells, delivers or provides or offers or agrees to sell, deliver
or provide any obscene writing, picture, record or other representation
or embodiment of the obscene; or
(2)
Presents or directs an obscene play, dance, or other performance
or participates directly in that portion thereof which makes it obscene;
or
(3)
Publishes, exhibits or otherwise makes available anything obscene;
or
(4)
Performs an obscene act or otherwise presents an obscene exhibition
of his body for gain; or
(5)
Creates, buys, procures or possesses obscene matter or material with
intent to disseminate it in violation of this section, or of the penal
laws or regulations of any other jurisdiction; or
(6)
Advertises or otherwise promotes the sale of material represented
or held out by him to be obscene, whether or not it is obscene.
B.
Obscene defined. Any material or performance is obscene if:
(1)
The average person, applying contemporary adult community standards,
would find that, taken as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest;
and
(2)
The average person, applying contemporary adult community standards,
would find that it depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way,
ultimate sexual acts or sadomasochistic sexual acts, whether normal
or perverted, actual or simulated, or masturbation, excretory functions
or lewd exhibition of the genitals; and
(3)
Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political
or scientific value.
C.
Interpretation of evidence.
(1)
Obscenity shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults, except
that it shall be judged with reference to children or other specially
susceptible audiences if it appears from the character of the material
or the circumstances of its dissemination to be specially designed
for or directed to such an audience.
(2)
Where circumstances of production, presentation, sale, dissemination,
distribution, or publicity indicate that material is being commercially
exploited for the sake of its prurient appeal, such evidence is probative
with respect to the nature of the matter and can justify the conclusion
that the matter is lacking in serious literary, artistic, political
or scientific value.
(3)
In any prosecution for an offense under this section, evidence shall
be admissible to show:
(a)
The character of the audience for which the material was designed
or to which it was directed;
(b)
What the predominant appeal of the material would be for ordinary
adults or a special audience, and what effect, if any, it would probably
have on the behavior of such people;
(c)
The artistic, literary, scientific, educational or other merits
of the material, or the absence thereof;
(d)
The degree, if any, of public acceptance of the material in
this state;
(e)
Appeal to prurient interest or absence thereof in advertising
or other promotion of the material;
(f)
The purpose of the author, creator, publisher or disseminator.
D.
Permissive inference. The trier of fact may infer an intent to disseminate
from the creation, purchase, procurement or possession of a mold,
engraved plate or other embodiment of obscenity, specially adapted
for reproducing multiple copies; or the possession of more than three
copies of obscene material shall be prima facie evidence of an intent
to disseminate.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
E.
Affirmative
defenses. It shall be an affirmative defense to obscenity that the
dissemination:
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
A.
Elements of the offense. A person who, with knowledge that a person
is a child, that is, a person under 18 years of age, or who fails
to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the true age of a child,
knowingly distributes to, or sends or causes to be sent to, or exhibits
to or offers to distribute or exhibit any harmful material to a child
is guilty of a violation of this chapter.
B.
Interpretation
of terms; definitions.
(1)
Material
is harmful if, to the average person applying contemporary standards,
its predominant appeal, taken as a whole, is to prurient interest;
that is, shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion
which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description
or representation of such matters and is material, the redeeming social
importance of which is substantially less than its prurient appeal.
(2)
DISTRIBUTE
KNOWINGLY
MATERIAL
As
used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
To transfer possession of material, whether with or without
consideration.
Having knowledge of the contents of the subject matter or
recklessly failing to exercise reasonable inspection which would have
disclosed the contents thereof.
Any writing, picture, record or other representation or embodiment.
C.
Interpretation of evidence.
(1)
The predominant appeal to prurient interest of the material shall
be judged with reference to average children of the same general age
of the child to whom such material was offered, distributed, sent
or exhibited unless it appears from the nature of the matter or the
circumstances of its dissemination, distribution or exhibition that
it is designed for specially susceptible groups, in which case the
predominant appeal of the material shall be judged with reference
to its intended or probable recipient group.
(2)
In prosecutions under this section where circumstances of production,
presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, or publicity indicate
the material is being commercially exploited for the sake of its prurient
appeal, such evidence is probative with respect to the nature of the
material and can justify the conclusion that the redeeming social
importance of the material is, in fact, substantially less than its
prurient appeal.
D.
Affirmative defenses.
(1)
Nothing in this section shall prohibit any public library or any
library operated by an accredited institution of higher education
from circulating harmful material to any person under 18 years of
age, provided such circulation is in aid of a legitimate scientific
or educational purpose, and it shall be an affirmative defense in
any prosecution for a violation of this section that the act charged
was committed in aid of legitimate scientific or educational purposes.
(2)
Nothing in this section shall prohibit any parent from distributing
to his child any harmful material.
(3)
Proof that the defendant demanded, was shown and acted in reliance
upon any of the following documents as proof of the age of a child
shall be a defense to any criminal prosecution under this section:
a document issued by the federal government or any state, county or
municipal government, or subdivision or agency thereof, including,
but not limited to, a motor vehicle operator's license, a registration
certificate issued under the Federal Selective Service Act or an identification
card issued to a member of the Armed Forces.
(4)
In the event an advertisement of harmful material as defined in this
section culminates in the sale or distribution of such harmful material
to a child, under circumstances where there was no personal confrontation
of the child by the defendant, his employees or agents, as where the
order or request for such harmful material was transmitted by mail,
telephone, or similar means of communication, and delivery of such
harmful material to the child was by mail, freight, or similar means
of transport, it shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation
of this section that the advertisement contained the following statement
or a statement substantially similar thereto, and that the defendant
required the purchaser to certify that he was not under the age of
18 years and that the purchaser falsely stated that he was not under
the age of 18 years:
"NOTICE: It is unlawful for any person under 18 years of age
to purchase the matter herein advertised. Any person under 18 years
of age who falsely states that he is not under 18 years of age for
the purpose of obtaining the material advertised herein is guilty
of a misdemeanor."
E.
Child falsifying age. Any person under 18 years of age who falsely
states, either orally or in writing, that he is not under the age
of 18 years, or who presents or offers to any person any evidence
of age and identity which is false or not actually his own for the
purpose of ordering, obtaining, viewing or otherwise procuring or
attempting to procure or view any harmful material is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(65 ILCS 5/11-5-1; 720 ILCS 5/11-21)
Any person, firm or corporation or any agent, officer or employee
thereof engaged in the business of distributing books, magazines,
periodicals, comic books or other publications to retail dealers who
shall refuse to furnish to any retail dealer such quantity of books,
magazines, periodicals, comic books or other publications as such
retail dealer normally sells because the retail dealer refuses to
sell, or offer for sale, any books, magazines, periodicals, comic
books or other publications which are obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy
or indecent is guilty of an offense. Each publication sold or delivered
in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense.
(720 ILCS 5/11-22)
