Senate Judiciary Committee Amendment
S 995 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
MPIC

The Committee on Judiciary proposes the following amendment (SJ-995.MB0002S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 2, by adding:

Section 16-15-395 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 (E) The offense is a misdemeanor to be heard by the family court if the person charged under the provisions of (A)(4) is a minor and the offense is the minor's first offense related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. The family court may order behavioral health counseling from an appropriate agency or provider, as a condition of adjudicating a minor.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by adding:

Section 16-15-405 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 (E) The offense is a misdemeanor to be heard by the family court if the person charged under the provisions of (A) is a minor and the offense is the minor's first charge related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. The family court may order behavioral health counseling from an appropriate agency or provider, as a condition of adjudicating a minor.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 4, by adding:

Section 16-15-410(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (D) This section does not apply to an employee of a law enforcement agency, including the State Law Enforcement Division, a prosecuting agency, including the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, or the South Carolina Department of Corrections who, while acting within the employee's official capacity in the course of an investigation or criminal proceeding, is in possession of material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity or appearing in a state of sexually explicit nudity when a reasonable person would infer the purpose is sexual stimulation. The employee's official capacity in the course of such investigation or criminal proceeding includes making materials available for inspection to the defendant's counsel in response to discovery requests.

Section 16-15-410 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 (E) The offense is a misdemeanor to be heard by the family court if the person charged under the provisions of (A) is a minor and the offense is the minor's first offense related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. The family court may order behavioral health counseling from an appropriate agency or provider, as a condition of adjudicating a minor.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 5, by striking Section 23-3-430(C)(2)(i), (j), and (k) and inserting:

   (i) criminal sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (Section 16-15-395). If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article;
   (j) criminal sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (Section 16-15-405). If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; or
   (k) criminal sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (Section 16-15-410). If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article.