SB 198 - This act authorizes civil liability for manufacturers, producers or wholesale distributors of obscene material which was possessed or viewed by an individual convicted of any offense defined in Chapter 573, RSMo. A victim must prove that the reading or viewing of the material proximately caused the violation, and that the defendant knew or had reason to know that his action was likely to cause such a violation. The defendant shall be liable for actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, infliction of emotional distress, pain and suffering and loss of consortium. The act has a three year statute of limitations, unless the victim was under eighteen years of age at the time of the conviction, in which case the action must be commenced within three years of the victim's eighteenth birthday.
JOAN GUMMELS