SB 1182

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law makes it a crime for a person to willfully and lewdly expose their private parts in a public place where there are other persons are present who may be offended or annoyed. This bill would make it a crime for a person to knowingly send an unsolicited image by electronic means depicting any person engaging in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or masturbation or depicting the exposed genitals or anus of any person. The bill would make the crime punishable as an infraction by a fine of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a 2nd or subsequent offense. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local crime. (2) Existing law creates a private cause of action against a person who intentionally distributes material that exposes an intimate body part of another person or shows that other person engaging in sexual conduct if the person knew that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private. This bill would create a private cause of action against a person who knowingly sends an unsolicited image by electronic means depicting any person engaging in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or masturbation or depicting the exposed genitals or anus of any person. The bill would entitle the plaintiff to recover economic and noneconomic damages or statutory damages of a sum not less than $1,500 but not more than $30,000, as well as punitive damages, reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and other available relief, including injunctive relief. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.