Connecticut SB 292: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF "CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL".

Bill Text

LCO 1735 
 
1 of 4 
  
General Assembly  
Raised Bill No. 292  
February Session, 2026 
 
LCO No. 1735 
 
 
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY  
 
 
Introduced by:  
(JUD)  
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF "CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE 
MATERIAL".  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Section 53a-193 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2 
The following definitions are applicable to this section and  sections 3 
53a-194 to 53a-210, inclusive: 4 
(1) Any material or performance is "obscene" if, (A) taken as a whole, 5 
it  predominantly  appeals  to  the  prurient  interest,  (B)  it  depicts  or 6 
describes  in  a  patently  offensive  way  a  prohibited  sexual  act,  and  (C) 7 
taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political 8 
or scientific value. Predominant appeal shall be judged with reference 9 
to ordinary adults unless it appears from the character of the material or 10 
performance  or  the  circumstances  of  its  dissemination  to  be  designed 11 
for  some  other  specially  susceptible  audience.  Whether  a  material  or 12 
performance  is  obscene  shall  be  judged  by  ordinary  adults  applying 13 
contemporary   community   standards.   In   applying   contemporary 14 
community  standards,  the  state  of  Connecticut  is  deemed  to  be  the 15 

Raised Bill No. 292 
 
 
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community. 16 
(2) Material or a performance is "obscene as to minors" if it depicts a 17 
prohibited sexual act and, taken as a whole, it is harmful to minors. For 18 
purposes  of  this  subdivision:  (A)  "Minor"  means  any  person  less  than 19 
seventeen  years  old  as  used  in  section  53a-196  and  less  than  sixteen 20 
years old as used in sections 53a-196a and 53a-196b, and (B) "harmful to 21 
minors"  means  that  quality  of  any  description  or  representation,  in 22 
whatever  form,  of  a  prohibited  sexual  act,  when  (i)  it  predominantly 23 
appeals to the prurient, shameful or morbid interest of minors, (ii) it is 24 
patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a 25 
whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors, and (iii) taken 26 
as  a  whole,  it  lacks  serious  literary,  artistic,  educational,  political  or 27 
scientific value for minors. 28 
(3) "Prohibited sexual act" means erotic fondling, nude performance, 29 
sexual  excitement,  sado-masochistic  abuse,  masturbation  or  sexual 30 
intercourse. 31 
(4) "Nude  performance"  means  the  showing  of  the  human  male  or 32 
female  genitals,  pubic  area  or  buttocks  with  less  than  a  fully  opaque 33 
covering,  or  the  showing  of  the  female  breast  with  less  than  a  fully 34 
opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple, or 35 
the  depiction  of  covered  male  genitals  in  a  discernibly  turgid  state  in 36 
any play, motion picture, dance or other exhibition performed before an 37 
audience. 38 
(5) "Erotic fondling" means touching a person's clothed or unclothed 39 
genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or if such person is a female, breast. 40 
(6) "Sexual excitement" means the condition of human male or female 41 
genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal. 42 
(7) "Sado-masochistic abuse" means flagellation or torture by or upon 43 
a  person  clad  in  undergarments,  a  mask  or  bizarre  costume,  or  the 44 
condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained on 45 
the part of one so clothed. 46 

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(8) "Masturbation" means the real or simulated touching, rubbing or 47 
otherwise  stimulating  a  person's  own  clothed  or  unclothed  genitals, 48 
pubic area, buttocks, or, if the person is female, breast, either by manual 49 
manipulation or with an artificial instrument. 50 
(9) "Sexual   intercourse"   means   intercourse,   real   or   simulated, 51 
whether genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital or oral-anal, whether 52 
between persons of the same or opposite sex or between a human and 53 
an animal, or with an artificial genital. 54 
(10) "Material"  means  anything  tangible  which  is  capable  of  being 55 
used  or  adapted  to  arouse  prurient,  shameful  or  morbid  interest, 56 
whether through the medium of reading, observation, sound or in any 57 
other  manner.  Undeveloped  photographs,  molds,  printing  plates,  and 58 
the  like,  may  be  deemed  obscene  notwithstanding  that  processing  or 59 
other   acts   may   be   required   to   make   the   obscenity   patent   or   to 60 
disseminate it. 61 
(11) "Performance"  means  any  play,  motion  picture,  dance  or  other 62 
exhibition performed before an audience. 63 
(12) "Promote" means to manufacture, issue, sell, give, provide, lend, 64 
mail,    deliver,    transfer,