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Hawaii Child Pornography Laws

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed June 20, 2016

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area.

In Hawaii, it is illegal to produce, distribute, or possess child pornography. Each state has its own definition of child pornography, but in Hawaii, child pornography consists of any pornographic visual representation that involves the use of a minor (any person who is less than 18 years old) engaging in sexual conduct, or was created so as to appear that a minor is engaging in sexual conduct. "Sexual conduct" consists of any of the following acts:

  • Masturbation
  • Homosexuality
  • Lesbianism
  • Bestiality
  • Sexual penetration
  • Deviate sexual intercourse
  • Sadomasochistic abuse, or
  • Lascivious exhibition of the genital or public area.

The three charts below outline the laws that criminalize the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography in Hawaii.

Code Section

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 707-750: Promoting Child Abuse in the First Degree - Producing Child Pornography

What's Prohibited?

While knowing (or having reason to know) its character and content, the offender:
  • Produces or participates in the preparation of child pornography
  • Produces or participates in the preparation of pornographic material that employs, uses, or otherwise contains a minor engaging in or assisting others to engage in sexual conduct, or
  • Engages in a pornographic performance that employs, uses, or otherwise contains a minor engaging in or assisting others to engage in sexual conduct

Penalties

 Class A felony.

Code Section

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 707-751: Promoting Child Abuse in the Second Degree - Distributing Child Pornography

What's Prohibited?

While knowing (or having reason to know) its character and content, the offender:
  • Disseminates child pornography
  • Reproduces child pornography with the intent to disseminate
  • Disseminates any material that contains an image of child pornography
  • Disseminates any pornographic material that employs, uses, or otherwise contains an image of child pornography, or
  • Possesses 30 or more images of child pornography, and the content of at least one image contains a minor who is under 12 years old, sadomasochistic abuse of a minor, or bestiality involving a minor

Penalties

 Class B felony.

Code Section

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 707-752: Promoting Child Abuse in the Third Degree - Possessing Child Pornography

What's Prohibited?

Knowing or having reason to know its character and content, the offender possesses:
  • Child pornography
  • Any material that contains an image of child pornography, or
  • Any pornographic material that employs, uses, or otherwise contains a minor engaging in, or assisting others to engage in sexual conduct

Affirmative Defenses

 

 It is an affirmative defense to a charge of promoting child abuse in the third degree that the defendant:
  • Possessed less than three images of child pornography, and
  • Promptly and in good faith, without retaining or allowing any person to access any of the images, took reasonable steps to destroy the images, or reported the matter to a law enforcement agency

Penalties

 Class C felony.

Additional Resources

State laws change frequently. For case specific information about Hawaii's child pornography laws contact a local sex crime lawyer.

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