Pornography Laws Oklahoma
Whether you are the victim of child pornography or accused of possessing and observing pornographic material involving minors can be detrimental to your mental state or injure your personal life and reputation. Those facing prosecution and getting convicted can face severe punishment and jail time. The Oklahoma and federal laws aim to protect kids from being exploited sexually. The US government state legislature considers anything child pornography that depicts individuals below 18 years engaged in sexual behavior. This article sheds light on all the details surrounding pornography laws in Oklahoma.
Pornography Laws in Oklahoma: An Overview
Under the laws of Oklahoma state, child pornography can be all kinds of graphic representations of children under the age of 18 years engaging in sexual activities, sadomasochism, sodomy, and others.
The criminal code consists of state statutes, with Title 21 containing several regulations regarding child pornography’s production, distribution, and possession. Don’t forget to read about pornography laws in Washington.
As per section 1024.1, child pornography refers to an individual image or a graphic representation of an individual under the age of 18 years involved in explicit sexual behavior with someone who is not their spouse. Some prohibited activities include:
- Perverted or normal intercourse
- Oral sex
- Bondage or S&M
- Anal sodomy
- Bestiality
- Ejaculation
- Defecation or urination in the sexual context
- Images of exposed breasts, genitals, or buttocks of an underaged individual and presentation of the child to stimulate the viewers sexually.
It is possible to store and possess child pornography in multiple formats. The accused may have these saved in their devices, like smartphones, computers, tablets, etc., in the form of files. These include negatives, films, photos, videos, live performances, or photo reproductions.
The state has several laws covering child pornography. Learn about these laws in the next section and their repercussions.
What Does the Oklahoma Pornography Laws Criminalize?
The purposeful creation of child pornography is a grave crime. It is also a crime to counsel, obtain, or aid any underaged individual in exposing themselves. Additionally, building an exhibition of that individual, exposed to the public eye, to stimulate the viewers sexually is against the pornography laws in Oklahoma.
- Child pornographic creation also comprises photographing, painting, writing, copying, printing, drawing, composing, engraving, designing, molding, engraving, or any other pornography preparation. It also comprises digital and physical mediums.
- Hence, possessing and downloading photographic material from or to your digital device like a tablet, computer, or smartphone breaches the law.
- Similarly, distribution or sale of child pornographic or obscene material is unlawful. The crime is a punishable felony, and the accused must either pay a fine of $500 – $20K or get a jail time ranging from 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) to a decade, or both.
- According to section 1024.2, buying, possessing, or acquiring child pornography is illegal. Those possessing one photograph depicting a minor engaged in sexual activity can face a 5-year imprisonment with up to a $5K fine.
- Note that every image will count as an individual offense, including every copy of a single image. For instance, an individual possessing an image on the computer, in printed form, and a cell phone will count as possession of three individual items consisting of child pornography.
- Additionally, Oklahoma laws consider it a serious crime to include a minor below 18 years in child pornography production. Such an act may entail seeking a child to achieve this goal or impelling or helping a child to get involved in such activities. This is a punishable crime with an imprisonment sentence of a minimum of 10 years.
- In cases where the child involved is below 12 years old during production, the accused can face an imprisonment sentence of up to 25 years.
- According to the Oklahoma statutes’ title 21, section 1021.2, including or causing the participation of a minor in child pornography production or purposefully selling, distributing, obtaining, or possessing sexually explicit images or writings of juveniles is punishable. This statute orders the maximum imprisonment of 20 years or a fine of up to $25K.
Aggravated Possession Laws
Aggravated possession of material depicting sexual exploitation of minors is also punishable if a person possesses 10 or more individual material showing child pornography. Each copy of the same material, such as images, will count as individual items per the definition given by Oklahoma statutes’ title 21 section of 1040.1a.
If found guilty under this section, you can face life imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $10K, or both. Many of these crimes are called felonies, with many being unqualified for deferred sentences. Hence, you cannot avoid this conviction and will have to spend your life in jail.
Moreover, these also fall under sex crimes and require convicted individuals to get their names added to the list of sex offenders. Such consequences follow the accused for a lifetime, even after getting discharged. Note that these crimes are severe in Oklahoma state, and those facing charges must get critical help.
Additional Details Regarding Oklahoma Pornography Laws
There are a few other things to learn about the pornography laws in Oklahoma. Essentially, the law does not count as a legal defense if the minor or the guardian/parents of the minor offer consent for child pornography.
If a parent gives consent for the involvement of the child in pornographic activities, it is a punishable felony with a maximum 20-year imprisonment, up to a $25K fine, or both. It falls under section 1021.3 of Title 21 of Oklahoma statutes.
The statute uses the term “knowingly” to define that the accused was aware of the character and nature of the pornography’s materials. This is because the defendant may be unaware of the exact material or have not seen or read the involved content.
Failure to report pornography with a minor within 36 hours (about 1 and a half days) after discovery is a punishable misdemeanor with a year in the county prison, a fine of around $500, or both according to section 1021.4 of Title 21 or Oklahoma statutes.
Purposefully posing or photographing an individual for sexually explicit content is unlawful, regardless of the involvement of children. Sales, exhibitions, distribution, or unrequested mailing is also a crime. This act is punishable with a year’s imprisonment in the county prison, a $2K fine, or both.
Conclusion
The state of Oklahoma charges an individual with child pornography for possessing, producing, or distributing sexually explicit material involving minors below 18 years of age. Various sections in Title 21 under Oklahoma statutes define various felonies and penalties for those accused. However, several possible defense options are available for the charged persons with serious help.
