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Dirty Pictures Could Lead to Lawsuits

JEFFERSON CITY - Dirty pictures could lead to lawsuits under legisation presented to a Missouri Senate committee Tuesday.

Under the proposal, porn "victims" would be able to bring civil action if they have been hurt by crimes inspired by the viewing of "obscene materials."

"There is new research and evidence that violent sexual acts are correlated with the use of pornography," said Sen. Ted House, D-St. Charles and sponsor of the bill. "Rapes, sexual assaults and murders have been linked to it."

House presenteed his bill to the Senate's General Laws Committee. He said the bill is intended for use in extreme cases where the plaintiff has ample evidence linking the viewing of pornography to the crime.

"Suppose a woman was raped because of someone's pornography addiction," House said. "If she can prove the rapist was influenced by pornography, she would be entitled to damages."

The bill requires a high level of proof that will be difficult to attain in the courts.

"The plaintiff must show pornography was in the criminal's possession or have a confession that they are a porn addict," House said.

Manufactures, producers and wholesale distributors of obscene materials could be sued for actual damages, emotional distress, pain and suffering or a loss of companionship caused by the materials.

But the bill came under questioning from an unexpected source -- one of the Senate's more conservative Republicans.

Sen. Dave Klarich, R-St. Louis County, compared House's plan to the current trend of holding gun or cigarette manufactures liable for damages caused by their products.

Klarich said he was also concerned about the bill's application to Internet pornography, and who would be considered a distributor. "If someone looked at pornography on a computer in a public library, could the library be held liable?"

The bill would apply to all forms of obscene material on the Internet, in magazines and on videos.

At the hearing, Sen. Ronnie DePasco, D-Kansas City, asked if the Victoria's Secret catalogue would fall under the scope of the bill. House said he did not think so.