State of Nevada Laws: Lewdness, Indecent
Exposure, and Obscenity
LEWDNESS AND INDECENT EXPOSURE
NRS 201.210
Open or gross lewdness;
penalty.
1.
A person who commits any act of open or gross lewdness is
guilty:
(a) For the
first offense, of a gross misdemeanor.
(b) For any
subsequent offense, of a category D felony and shall be punished
as provided in NRS
193.130.
2. For
the purposes of this section, the breast feeding of a child by
the mother of the child does not constitute an act of open or
gross lewdness.
[Part 1911
C&P § 195; A 1921, 112; NCL § 10142]—(NRS A 1963, 63;
1965, 1465; 1967, 476; 1973, 95, 255, 1406; 1977, 866; 1979,
1429; 1983, 206; 1991, 1008; 1995, 127, 1199, 1327; 1997, 2501,
3188)
NRS 201.220
Indecent or obscene
exposure; penalty.
1.
A person who makes any open and indecent or obscene
exposure of his person, or of the person of another, is guilty:
(a) For the
first offense, of a gross misdemeanor.
(b) For any
subsequent offense, of a category D felony and shall be punished
as provided in NRS
193.130.
2. For
the purposes of this section, the breast feeding of a child by
the mother of the child does not constitute an act of open and
indecent or obscene exposure of her body.
[Part 1911
C&P § 195; A 1921, 112; NCL § 10142]—(NRS A 1965, 1465;
1967, 476; 1973, 96, 255, 1406; 1977, 867; 1979, 1429; 1983,
206; 1991, 1008; 1995, 127, 1200, 1327; 1997, 2501, 3189)
NRS 201.230
Lewdness with child under 14
years; penalties.
1. A
person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious
act, other than acts constituting the crime of sexual assault,
upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child
under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing,
appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual
desires of that person or of that child, is guilty of lewdness
with a child.
2. Except
as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a person who commits
lewdness with a child is guilty of a category A felony and shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life with
the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning
when a minimum of 10 years has been served, and may be further
punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.
3. A
person who commits lewdness with a child and who has been
previously convicted of:
(a) Lewdness
with a child pursuant to this section or any other sexual
offense against a child; or
(b) An
offense committed in another jurisdiction that, if committed in
this State, would constitute lewdness with a child pursuant to
this section or any other sexual offense against a child,
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is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for life without the
possibility of parole.
4. For
the purpose of this section, “other sexual offense against a
child” has the meaning ascribed to it in subsection 5 of NRS
200.366.
[1911
C&P § 195 1/2; added 1925, 17; A 1947, 24; 1943 NCL §
10143]—(NRS A 1961, 92; 1967, 477; 1973, 96, 255, 1406; 1977,
867, 1632; 1979, 1430; 1983, 207; 1991, 1009; 1995, 1200; 1997,
1722, 2502, 3190; 1999,
470, 472;
2003,
2826; 2005,
2877)
NRS 201.232
Breast feeding: Legislative
intent; authorized in any public or private location where
mother is authorized to be.
1. The
Legislature finds and declares that:
(a) The
medical profession in the United States recommends that children
from birth to the age of 1 year should be breast fed, unless
under particular circumstances it is medically inadvisable.
(b) Despite
the recommendation of the medical profession, statistics reveal
a declining percentage of mothers who are choosing to breast
feed their babies.
(c) Many new
mothers are now choosing to use formula rather than to breast
feed even before they leave the hospital, and only a small
percentage of all mothers are still breast feeding when their
babies are 6 months old.
(d) In
addition to the benefit of improving bonding between mothers and
their babies, breast feeding offers better nutrition, digestion
and immunity for babies than does formula feeding, and it may
increase the intelligence quotient of a child. Babies who are
breast fed have lower rates of death, meningitis, childhood
leukemia and other cancers, diabetes, respiratory illnesses,
bacterial and viral infections, diarrheal diseases, otitis
media, allergies, obesity and developmental delays.
(e) Breast
feeding also provides significant benefits to the health of the
mother, including protection against breast cancer and other
cancers, osteoporosis and infections of the urinary tract. The
incidence of breast cancer in the United States might be reduced
by 25 percent if every woman breast fed all her children until
they reached the age of 2 years.
(f) The World
Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund
have established as one of their major goals for the decade the
encouragement of breast feeding.
(g) The
social constraints of modern society weigh against the choice of
breast feeding and lead new mothers with demanding time
schedules to opt for formula feeding to avoid embarrassment,
social ostracism or criminal prosecution.
(h) Any
genuine promotion of family values should encourage public
acceptance of this most basic act of nurture between a mother
and her baby, and no mother should be made to feel incriminated
or socially ostracized for breast feeding her child.
2. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her child
in any public or private location where the mother is otherwise
authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the
mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the
breast feeding.
(Added to
NRS by 1995, 126)
OBSCENITY
NRS 201.235
Definitions.
In NRS
201.235 to 201.254,
inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. “Community”
means the area from which a jury is or would be selected for the
court in which the action is tried.
2. “Item”
includes any book, leaflet, pamphlet, magazine, booklet,
picture, drawing, photograph, film, negative, slide, motion
picture, figure, object, article, novelty device, recording,
transcription, phonograph record or tape recording, videotape or
videodisc, with or without music, or other similar items.
3. “Material”
means anything tangible which is capable of being used or
adapted to arouse interest, whether through the medium of
reading, observation, sound or in any other manner.
4. “Obscene”
means any item, material or performance which:
(a) An
average person applying contemporary community standards would
find, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest;
(b) Taken as
a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political or
scientific value; and
(c) Does one
of the following:
(1) Depicts or describes in a patently offensive way ultimate
sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated.
(2) Depicts or describes in a patently offensive way
masturbation, excretory functions, sadism or masochism.
(3) Lewdly exhibits the genitals.
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Appeal shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults, unless
it appears, from the character of the material or the
circumstances of its dissemination, to be designed for children
or a clearly defined deviant group.
5. “Performance”
means any play, motion picture, dance or other exhibition
performed before an audience.
[1911
C&P § 196; A 1955, 907]—(NRS A 1963, 1171; 1965, 584;
1971, 205, 493; 1979, 364)—(Substituted in revision for NRS
201.250)
NRS 201.237
Exemptions.
The provisions of NRS
201.235 to 201.254,
inclusive, do not apply to those universities, schools, museums
or libraries which are operated by or are under the direct
control of the State, or any political subdivision of the State,
or to persons while acting as employees of such organizations.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 363)
NRS 201.239
Power of county, city or
town to regulate obscenity. The
provisions of NRS
201.235 to 201.254,
inclusive, do not preclude any county, city or town from
adopting an ordinance further regulating obscenity if its
provisions do not conflict with these statutes.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 364)
NRS 201.241
Action to declare item or
material obscene and obtain injunction.
1. The
district attorney or city attorney of any county or city,
respectively, in which there is an item or material which he
believes to be obscene, may file a complaint in the district
court seeking to have the item or material declared obscene and
to enjoin the possessor and the owner from selling, renting,
exhibiting, reproducing, manufacturing or distributing it and
from possessing it for any purpose other than personal use.
2. In
such an action, no temporary restraining order may be issued.
3. A
trial on the merits must be held not earlier than 5 days after
the answer is filed nor later than 35 days after the complaint
is filed. The court shall render a decision within 2 days after
the conclusion of the trial.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 363; A 1981, 1688)
NRS 201.243
Evidence probative of
obscenity of material or item. In
prosecutions under NRS
201.235 to 201.254,
inclusive, evidence of circumstances of production,
dissemination, sale or publicity of the material or item, which
indicates it is being commercially exploited by the defendant
for its prurient appeal, is probative of the obscenity of the
material or item and can justify the conclusion that it is,
taken as a whole, without serious literary, artistic, political
or scientific value.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 364)
NRS 201.245
Surrender, seizure and
destruction of obscene item or material; undertaking not
required for injunction; defendant chargeable with knowledge of
contents after service of summons and complaint.
1. If a
final judgment declaring an item or material obscene is entered
against its owner or possessor, the judgment shall contain a
provision directing the owner or possessor to surrender to the
sheriff of the county in which the action was brought the item
or material declared obscene and a direction to the sheriff to
seize and destroy it.
2. In
any action brought to declare an item or material obscene, the
district attorney or city attorney bringing the action is not
required to file an undertaking before an injunction is issued.
3. A
sheriff directed to seize an obscene item or material is not
liable for damages sustained by reason of the injunction in
cases where judgment ultimately is rendered in favor of the
person, firm, association or corporation sought to be enjoined.
4. Every
person, firm, association or corporation who sells, distributes,
or acquires possession with intent to sell or distribute any
allegedly obscene item or material, after service upon him of a
summons and complaint in an action brought to declare an item or
material obscene is chargeable with knowledge of the contents of
the item or material.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 363)
NRS 201.247
Payment to city or county of
value received from sale of obscene materials after judgment or
injunction. If a
district court enters a judgment that an item or material is
obscene and that item or material, or one substantially
identical thereto, is sold after that judgment or injunction,
the court shall order an accounting to determine the value of
all money and other consideration received by the defendant
which was derived from the obscene item or material after the
court judged it to be obscene. The defendant shall pay a sum
equivalent to that value into the general fund of the city or
county which prosecuted the action.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 364)
NRS 201.249
Production, sale,
distribution, exhibition and possession of obscene items or
materials; penalty. Except
as otherwise provided in NRS
201.237 and except under the circumstances described in NRS
200.720 or 200.725,
a person is guilty of a misdemeanor who knowingly:
1. Prints,
produces or reproduces any obscene item or material for sale or
commercial distribution.
2. Publishes,
sells, rents, transports in intrastate commerce, or commercially
distributes or exhibits any obscene item or material, or offers
to do any such things.
3. Has
in his possession with intent to sell, rent, transport or
commercially distribute any obscene item or material.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 364; A 1995, 951)
NRS 201.251
Coercing acceptance of
obscene articles or publications; penalty.
1. A
person, firm, association or corporation shall not, as a
condition to any sale, allocation, consignment or delivery for
resale of any item or material, require that the purchaser or
consignee receive for resale any other item or material which is
obscene. A person, firm, association or corporation shall not
deny or threaten to deny any franchise or impose or threaten to
impose any penalty, financial or otherwise, for the failure or
refusal of any person to accept any obscene item or material or
for the return thereof.
2. A
person, firm, association or corporation who violates any
provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Added to
NRS by 1979, 364)
NRS 201.253
Obscene, indecent or immoral
shows, acts or performances; penalty.
Except under the circumstances described in NRS
200.710, every person who knowingly causes to be performed
or exhibited, or engages in the performance or exhibition of,
any obscene, indecent or immoral show, act or performance is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Added to
NRS by 1967, 482; A 1995, 952)
NRS 201.254
Exemption of stagehands and
movie projectionists from criminal liability when possessing or
exhibiting obscene material directly related to their work.
A motion picture machine operator or a stagehand is
not criminally liable for exhibiting or possessing with the
intent to exhibit any obscene material if:
1. Such
exhibition or possession is a part of the motion picture he is
projecting or part of the stage show for which he is employed as
a stagehand; and
2. The
operator or stagehand has no financial interest, except wages,
and no managerial responsibility in his place of employment.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 352)
OBSCENE, THREATENING OR ANNOYING TELEPHONE
CALLS
NRS 201.255
Penalties.
1. Any
person who willfully makes a telephone call and addresses any
obscene language, representation or suggestion to or about any
person receiving such call or addresses to such other person any
threat to inflict injury to the person or property of the person
addressed or any member of his family is guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. Every
person who makes a telephone call with intent to annoy another
is, whether or not conversation ensues from making the telephone
call, guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. Any
violation of subsections 1 and 2 is committed at the place at
which the telephone call or calls were made and at the place
where the telephone call or calls were received, and may be
prosecuted at either place.
(Added to
NRS by 1967, 98; A 1971, 855)
EXHIBITION AND SALE OF OBSCENE MATERIAL TO
MINORS
NRS 201.256
Definitions.
As used in NRS
201.256 to 201.2655,
inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and
terms defined in NRS
201.257 to 201.264,
inclusive, have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513; A 1997, 1314, 2662)
NRS 201.2565
“Distribute” defined.
“Distribute” means to transfer possession with
or without consideration.
(Added to
NRS by 1997, 2662)
NRS 201.257
“Harmful to minors”
defined. “Harmful to
minors” means that quality of any description or
representation, whether constituting all or a part of the
material considered, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual
conduct, sexual excitement or sado-masochistic abuse which
predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful or morbid
interest of minors, is patently offensive to prevailing
standards in the adult community with respect to what is
suitable material for minors, and is without serious literary,
artistic, political or scientific value.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513; A 1981, 1689)
NRS 201.2581
“Material” defined.
“Material” means:
1. A
book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper, printed advertising or
other printed or written material;
2. A
motion picture, photograph, picture, drawing, statue, sculpture
or other visual representation or image; or
3. A
transcription, recording or live or recorded telephone message.
(Added to
NRS by 1997, 2662)
NRS 201.259
“Minor” defined.
“Minor” means any person under the age of 18
years, but as applied to the showing of a motion picture
excludes any person employed on the premises where the motion
picture is shown.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513)
NRS 201.2595
“Motion picture”
defined. “Motion
picture” means a film or a video recording, whether or not it
has been rated appropriate for a particular audience, that is:
1. Placed
on a videodisc or videotape; or
2. To
be shown in a theater or on television,
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and includes, without limitation, a cartoon or an animated film.
(Added to
NRS by 1997, 1314; A 1997, 2663)
NRS 201.261
“Nudity” defined.
“Nudity” means:
1. The
showing of the human female breast with less than a fully opaque
covering of any portion of the areola and nipple;
2. The
showing of the human male or female genitals or pubic area with
less than a fully opaque covering of any portion thereof; or
3. The
depiction of the human male genitals in a discernible turgid
state whether or not covered.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513; A 1999,
1360)
NRS 201.262
“Sado-masochistic abuse”
defined. “Sado-masochistic
abuse” means:
1. Flagellation
or torture practiced by or upon a person whether or not clad in
undergarments, a mask or bizarre costume; or
2. The
condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically
restrained.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513; A 1981, 1689)
NRS 201.263
“Sexual conduct”
defined. “Sexual
conduct” means acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual
intercourse or physical contact with a person’s unclothed
genitals or pubic area.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513)
NRS 201.264
“Sexual excitement”
defined. “Sexual
excitement” means the condition of human male or female
genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513)
NRS 201.265
Unlawful acts; penalty.
Except as otherwise provided in NRS
200.720 and 201.2655,
and unless a greater penalty is provided pursuant to NRS
201.560, a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person
knowingly:
1. Distributes
or causes to be distributed to a minor material that is harmful
to minors, unless the person is the parent, guardian or spouse
of the minor.
2. Exhibits
for distribution to an adult in such a manner or location as to
allow a minor to view or to have access to examine material that
is harmful to minors, unless the person is the parent, guardian
or spouse of the minor.
3. Sells
to a minor an admission ticket or pass for or otherwise admits a
minor for monetary consideration to any presentation of material
that is harmful to minors, unless the minor is accompanied by
his parent, guardian or spouse.
4. Misrepresents
that he is the parent, guardian or spouse of a minor for the
purpose of:
(a)
Distributing to the minor material that is harmful to minors; or
(b) Obtaining
admission of the minor to any presentation of material that is
harmful to minors.
5. Misrepresents
his age as 18 or over for the purpose of obtaining:
(a) Material
that is harmful to minors; or
(b) Admission
to any presentation of material that is harmful to minors.
6. Sells
or rents motion pictures which contain material that is harmful
to minors on the premises of a business establishment open to
minors, unless the person creates an area within the
establishment for the placement of the motion pictures and any
material that advertises the sale or rental of the motion
pictures which:
(a) Prevents
minors from observing the motion pictures or any material that
advertises the sale or rental of the motion pictures; and
(b) Is
labeled, in a prominent and conspicuous location, “Adults
Only.”
(Added to
NRS by 1969, 513; A 1971, 161, 495; 1981, 1689; 1995, 952; 1997,
1314, 2662; 2003,
430, 1375)
NRS 201.2655
Exemptions.
The provisions of NRS
201.256 to 201.2655,
inclusive, do not apply to:
1. A
university, community college, school, museum or library which
is operated by or which is under the direct control of this
state or a political subdivision of this state; or
2. An
employee or independent contractor of an institution listed in
subsection 1, if the employee or independent contractor is
acting within the scope of his employment or contractual
relationship.
(Added to
NRS by 1997, 2662)
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