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KRS 531.335

Possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor -- Applicability

Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case Crabtree v. Commonwealth (2014)

Most recently applied in Steele v. Commonwealth (February 2019)

Effective: July 15, 2024 History: Amended 2024 Ky

How often courts cite this section

20032010201920
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) A person is guilty of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor when, having knowledge of its content, character, and that the sexual performance is by a minor, he or she:

(a) Knowingly has in his or her possession or control any matter which visually depicts an actual sexual performance by a minor person or computer- generated image of a minor person; or (b) Intentionally views any matter which visually depicts an actual sexual performance by a minor person or computer-generated image of a minor person.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1)(b) of this section:

(a) Shall only apply to the deliberate, purposeful, and voluntary viewing of matter depicting sexual conduct by a minor person or computer-generated image of a minor person and not to the accidental or inadvertent viewing of such matter;

(b) Shall not apply to persons viewing the matter in the course of a law enforcement investigation or criminal or civil litigation involving the matter; and (c) Shall not apply to viewing the matter by a minor or the minor's parents or guardians, or to school administrators investigating violations of subsection (1)(b) of this section.

(3) Possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor is:

(a) A Class D felony if the person knows that the minor or computer-generated image of a minor portrayed is less than eighteen (18) years old at the time of the sexual performance; and (b) A Class C felony if the person knows that the minor or computer-generated image of a minor person portrayed is less than twelve (12) years old at the time of the sexual performance.

Official source: Kentucky General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Kentucky statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.