H. B. 2633
(By Delegates Border and Greear)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
ten, relating to prohibiting public indecency; definitions;
and criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8B. SEXUAL OFFENSES.
§61-8B-10. Public indecency; penalties.
(a) A person who knowingly, in a public place:
(1) Engages in actual or simulated sexual intercourse,
masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, or other ultimate sex acts;
(2) Appears in a state of nudity; or
(3) Fondles the genitals of himself, herself or another
person is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, or fined not
more than one thousand dollars, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Nudity" means the showing of the human male or female
genitals, pubic area, anus or buttocks, the showing of the female
breast below the top of the areola, or the showing of the covered
male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
(2) "Public place" means any location open to, or frequented
by, the public, or where the public is present or invited to be
present, or where a person may reasonably be expected to be
observed by members of the public. Public places include, but
are not limited to, streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, and
business or commercial establishments that are open to the public
at large or where entrance is invited or permitted for a cover
charge or fee. Public place shall not include premises used
solely as private residences, enclosed public restrooms, showers,
locker and/or dressing room facilities, enclosed motel rooms and
hotel rooms designed and intended for sleeping accommodations,
doctors' offices, portions of hospitals and similar places in
which nudity or exposure is necessarily and customarily expected outside of the home and where an expectation of privacy exists.
(c) This section shall not apply to a person appearing in a
state of nudity in a modeling hall operated by a public or
proprietary school, licensed by the state or an accredited
college, junior college, or university, or in a bona fide
theatrical or other public performance, presented for serious
literary, artistic, political, or scientific purposes, and not
for the purpose of exploiting, promoting, or pandering the sexual
or prurient appeal of the nudity involved.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define "public
indecency" and make acts constituting such definitions a crime.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.