ENROLLED

H. B. 4006

         (By Delegates L. Phillips, Rowan, Fleischauer, Sobonya, Guthrie, Sumner, Lawrence, Miller, Poore, Border and Arvon)

[Passed March 8, 2014; in effect ninety days from passage.]

AN ACT to amend and reenact §61-8C-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to crimes pertaining to the possession, transmission, transportation, distribution and exhibiting of material depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct; adding the accessing of such materials with intent to view as a defined offense; creating an enhanced penalties for possessing, accessing with intent to view, transporting, receiving or distributing files or materials based on the number of images in a digital, photographic or video format which depict minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct or depict acts of bestiality involving a child; and setting a number of images based on length for video film or similar media.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §61-8C-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 8C. FILMING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT OF MINORS.

§61-8C-3. Distribution and exhibiting of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct prohibited; penalty.

    (a) Any person who, knowingly and willfully, sends or causes to be sent or distributes, exhibits, possesses, electronically accesses with intent to view or displays or transports any material visually portraying a minor engaged in any sexually explicit conduct is guilty of a felony.

    (b) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section when the conduct involves fifty or fewer images shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not more than two years or fined not more than $2,000 or both.

    (c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section when the conduct involves more than fifty but fewer than six hundred images shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than two nor more than ten years or fined not more than $5,000, or both.

    (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section when the conduct involves six hundred or more images or depicts violence against a child or a child engaging in bestiality shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than five nor more than fifteen years or fined not more than $25,000, or both.

    (e) For purposes of this section each video clip, movie or similar recording of five minutes or less shall constitute seventy-five images. A video clip, movie or similar recording of a duration longer than five minutes shall be deemed to constitute seventy-five images for every two minutes in length it exceeds five minutes.