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Senate Bill 407 |
Senate Author: Watson et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Craddick et al. |
Senate Bill 407 amends provisions of the Penal Code, the Education Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Family Code relating to the offense of electronic transmission of certain visual material depicting a minor and to certain educational programs concerning the prevention and awareness of that offense. The bill creates the Class C misdemeanor of electronic transmission of certain visual material depicting a minor if a person younger than 18 years of age intentionally or knowingly by electronic means promotes to another minor visual material depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct under certain circumstances or intentionally or knowingly possesses in an electronic format visual material depicting another minor engaging in sexual conduct under certain circumstances. The bill establishes penalty enhancements based on certain intent and on previous convictions of the offense and establishes an affirmative defense to prosecution and general defense to prosecution for the offense.
Senate Bill 407 sets out certain court procedures, including requiring a family court to waive its original jurisdiction and refer a defendant younger than 18 years of age to juvenile court if the complaint pending against the child alleges the offense of electronic transmission of certain visual material depicting a minor. The bill provides for the confidentiality of evidence depicting or describing sexual conduct by a child or minor relating to the offense or described in certain child testimony, provides for the discovery of that evidence, and entitles certain first time offenders and juveniles found to have engaged in conduct relating to the offense to expunction, or sealing, as applicable, of records relating to the offense. The bill requires the Texas School Safety Center, in consultation with the office of the attorney general, to develop educational programs on the dangers of students sharing visual material depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct, sets out the issues that such programs must address, and requires each school district annually to provide or make available information on the programs to parents and students as appropriate. A court may require the attendance and successful completion by a defendant or child found to have committed the offense of such an educational program or an equivalent program.
Senate Bill 407 establishes a defense to prosecution for the offense of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and for possession or promotion of child pornography with respect to visual material possessed under the offense of electronic transmission of certain visual material depicting a minor.