[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Larksville 3-9-1988 by Ord. No.
1-1988 (Ch. 112 of the 1987 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The Borough Council finds that the crass commercial exploitation
of explicit sexual conduct through the public exhibition of obscene
films and the sale of obscene publications and devices and the use
of so-called massage parlors, model studios and other similar establishments
for the purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution constitutes
a debasement and distortion of a sensitive key relationship of human
existence, central to family life, community welfare and the development
of human personality; is indecent and offensive to the senses and
to public morals and interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of
life and property in that such interferes with the interest of the
public in the quality of life and total environment, the tone of commerce
in the Borough, property values and the public safety; and that the
continued operation of such activities is detrimental to the best
of health, safety, convenience, good morals and general welfare of
the Borough of Larksville and the residents, citizens, inhabitants
and businesses thereof. Accordingly, the Council hereby declares such
activities to be illegal as hereinafter set forth and, further, that
such activities are and are hereby declared to be and constitute a
public nuisance and herein establishes penalties for such activities.
Any person who, with knowledge of the character and content,
either sells, gives away, lends, distributes, exhibits, shows, transmutes
or offers either to sell, give away, lend, distribute, exhibit, show
or transmute or has in his possession or under his control with intent
either to sell, give away, lend, distribute, exhibit, show or transmute
to another any obscene motion-picture film or any obscene literature,
book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, storybook, paper, comic book,
writing, drawing, photograph, figure, image or any written or printed
matter of any obscene nature or any device, article or instrument
of an obscene nature shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
$300 or to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days,
or both.
Any person who designs, copies, draws, photographs, prints,
utters, publishes or in any manner manufactures or prepares any obscene
motion-picture film or any obscene literature, book, magazine, pamphlet,
newspaper, storybook, paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph,
figure, image or any written or printed matter of any obscene nature
or any device, article or instrument of an obscene nature shall be
guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $300 or to undergo imprisonment
for a period not exceeding 90 days, or both.
Any person who, with knowledge of the character and content,
produces, presents or directs any obscene performance or participates
in the portion thereof which is obscene shall be guilty of a summary
offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a
fine not exceeding $300 or to undergo imprisonment for a period not
exceeding 90 days, or both.
Any person who knowingly participates in, supports or in any
way aids or assists any persons in selling, lending, distributing,
giving away or showing any obscene motion-picture film or any obscene
literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, storybook, paper,
comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, figure, image or any written
or printed matter of any obscene nature or any device, article or
instrument of any obscene nature shall be guilty of a summary offense
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not
exceeding $300 or to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding
90 days, or both.
Any person being the owner of any premises or having control
thereof who knowingly permits within or upon said premises the exhibition,
projection or showing of any motion-picture film, show, presentation
or performance of any obscene nature or permits anyone to sell, lend,
distribute, exhibit, give away or show any obscene motion-picture
film or any obscene literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper,
storybook, paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, figure,
image or any written or printed matter of any obscene nature or any
device, article or instrument of an obscene nature shall be guilty
of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine not exceeding $300 or to undergo imprisonment for a
period not exceeding 90 days, or both.
Whoever knowingly writes, prints, publishes or utters or causes
to be printed, published or uttered any advertisement or notice of
any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, stating or purporting
to state where, how or by who or what means any obscene motion-picture
film or any obscene literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper,
storybook, paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, figure,
image, matter, article or thing of an obscene nature can be seen,
purchased, obtained or had shall be guilty of a summary offense and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
$300 or to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days,
or both.
A. No person within the Borough of Larksville shall willfully or knowingly
engage in the business of selling, lending, giving away, showing,
advertising for sale or distributing to any person under the age of
17 years or have in his possession with the intent to engage in said
business or to otherwise offer for sale or commercial distribution
to any individual under the age of 17 years any obscene motion-picture
film or any still picture or photograph or any book, pocket book,
pamphlet or magazine, the cover or content of which exploits, is devoted
to or is principally made up of descriptions or dictions of illicit
sex or sexual immorality or which is obscene or which consists of
pictures of nude or partially denuded figures posed or presented in
a manner to provoke or arouse lust or passion or to exploit sex, lust
or perversion for commercial gain or any device, article or instrument
of an obscene nature.
B. No person within the Borough of Larksville shall display at newsstands
or any other business establishment frequented by minors under the
age of 17 years or where said minors are or may be invited as a part
of the general public any obscene motion-picture film or any still
picture or photograph or any book, pocket book, pamphlet or magazine,
the cover or content of which exploits, is devoted to or is principally
made up of descriptions or dictions of illicit sex or sexual immorality
or which is obscene or which consists of pictures of nude or partially
denuded figures posed or presented in a manner to provoke or arouse
lust or passion or to exploit sex, lust or perversion for commercial
gain or any device, article or instrument of an obscene nature.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
COMMUNITY STANDARDS
The standards of the community from which the jury is drawn
or would be drawn if it were the trier of the fact.
ILLICIT SEX OR SEXUAL IMMORALITY
A.
Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
B.
Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy.
C.
Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region,
buttocks or female breasts.
KNOWINGLY
Having knowledge of the character and content of the material
involved or failure upon notice to exercise reasonable inspection
which would disclose the content and character of the same.
NUDE OR PARTIALLY DENUDED
A.
That which is not completely and opaquely covered:
(4)
Female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the
areola.
B.
Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely
and opaquely covered.
OBSCENE
That which is determined as "obscene," applying the following
guidelines:
A.
Whether the average person applying contemporary community standards
would find that the subject matter taken as a whole appeals to the
prurient interest.
B.
Whether the subject matter depicts or describes in a patently
offensive way sexual conduct of a type hereinafter described.
C.
Whether the subject matter taken as a whole lacks serious literary,
artistic, political or scientific value.
PATENTLY OFFENSIVE
So offensive on its face as to affront current standards
of decency, and shall be deemed to include any of the following described
forms of sexual conduct if depicted or described in a "patently offensive"
way:
A.
An act of sexual intercourse, normal or perverted, actual or
simulated, real or animated, including genital-genital, anal-genital
or oral-genital intercourse, whether between human beings or between
a human being and an animal.
B.
Sadomasochistic abuse, meaning flagellation or torture by or
upon a person who is nude or clad in undergarments or in a revealing
costume or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically
restrained on the part of the one so clothed.
C.
Masturbation, excretory functions and lewd exhibition of the
genitals, including any explicit close-up representation of a human
genital organ or spread-eagle exposure of female genital organs.
D.
Physical contact or simulated physical contact with the clothed
or unclothed pubic area or buttocks of a human male or female or the
breasts of the female, whether alone or between members of the same
or opposite sex or between humans and animals in an act of apparent
sexual stimulation or gratification.
E.
A device designated and marketed as useful primarily for stimulation
of the human genital organs.
F.
Male or female genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or
arousal, or covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
G.
Fellatio, cunnilingus, anal sodomy, seminal ejaculation or any
other excretory function.
PERSON
A natural person, partnership or corporation. Whenever used
in a clause describing or imposing a fine or term of imprisonment,
or both, the term "person," as applied to a partnership, shall mean
the partners or members thereof and, as applied to a corporation,
shall mean the officers thereof.
A. No person shall own, operate or maintain any massage parlor, model
studio or other similar establishment which, as a regular course of
business, is used for the purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution,
and every such massage parlor, model studio or other similar establishment
in or upon which acts of lewdness, assignation or prostitution are
held or occur is declared to be a public nuisance. Any such person
violating this section shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
$300 or to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days,
or both.
B. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
MASSAGE
Any method of treating the superficial soft parts of the
human body for remedial, hygienic or other purposes, consisting of
rubbing, stroking, kneading or any similar treatment, accomplished
by hand or by the use of any instrument.
MASSAGE PARLOR
Any building or structure or portion thereof, located within
the Borough, which is open to members of the general public, with
or without the payment of a fee, at which massage services are offered.
MODEL STUDIO
(1)
Any premises on which there is conducted the business of furnishing
figure models who pose in the nude for the purpose of being observed
or viewed by any person or of being sketched, painted, drawn, sculptured,
photographed or otherwise similarly depicted for persons who pay a
fee or other consideration or compensation or a gratuity for the right
or opportunity so to depict this figure model or for admission to
or for permission to remain upon or as a condition for remaining upon
the premises.
(2)
Any premises where there is conducted the business of furnishing
or providing or procuring, for a fee or other consideration or compensation
or gratuity, figure models who pose in the nude to be observed or
viewed by any person or to be sketched, painted, drawn, sculptured,
photographed or otherwise similarly depicted.
(3)
Exception. The words "model studio" do not include:
(a)
Any studio which is operated by any college or junior college,
public school or any governmental agency wherein the person, firm,
association, partnership or corporation operating it has met the requirements
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the issuance or conferring
of and is in fact authorized thereunder to issue and confer a diploma
or honorary diploma.
(b)
Any premises where there is conducted the business of furnishing, providing or procuring figure models solely for any studio described in Subsection
(3)(a) of this definition.
(c)
Any studio operated by a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation devoted
to the development of art and its appreciation.
No person shall conduct the business of furnishing or providing
or procuring, for a fee or other consideration or compensation or
gratuity, dancing girls, go-go girls and/or strippers (male or female)
who appear in whole or in part in the nude to be observed or viewed
by any person and/or to perform a striptease or facsimile thereof
or to be sketched, painted, drawn, sculptured, photographed or otherwise
similarly depicted. Any person in violation hereof shall be guilty
of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine not exceeding $300 or to undergo imprisonment for a
period not exceeding 90 days, or both.