Mississippi Child Pornography Laws

Code Section

Definitions

"Child" means any individual who is less than 18 years old.

"Sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated:

• Sexual intercourse (including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal) between people of the same or opposite sex
• Bestiality
• Masturbation
• Sadistic or masochistic abuse
• Lascivious exhibition of the genital or pubic area of any person, or
• Fondling (or any other erotic touching) of the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, anus, or breast

What's Prohibited?

Producing Child Pornography:

• Causing, soliciting, or knowingly permitting any child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of the conduct
• Filming, video taping, or otherwise depicting or recording a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or
• Knowingly enticing, inducing, persuading, seducing, soliciting, advising, coercing, or ordering a child to meet with a person for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct

Possessing Child Pornography:

• Possessing any photograph, drawing, sketch, film, video tape, or other visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct

Distributing Child Pornography:

• Receiving with the intent to distribute, distribute for sale, sell, or attempt to sell any visual depiction of a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or
• Knowingly sending, transporting, transmitting, shipping, mailing, or receiving any visual depiction of an actual child engaging in sexually explicit conduct

Undercover Police Officers

Jurisdiction

Penalties

First offense: Felony. Punishable by a fine of between $50,000 and $500,000 and by imprisonment for between five and 40 years.

Second (or subsequent) offense: Felony. Punishable by a fine of between $100,000 and $1,000,000 and by imprisonment for between 20 years and life in prison.