Chapter 272

Section 1. Whoever fraudulently and deceitfully entices or takes away an unmarried person under sixteen from the house of such person's parents or elsewhere, without the consent of the parent or guardian, if any, under whose care and custody such person is living, for the purpose…

Section 10. Nothing in the preceding section shall prevent the arrest and detention without a warrant of any person who, the officer serving said process may have reasonable cause to believe, is violating any provision of this chapter, or is keeping a house, room or place resorte…

Section 104. (a) As used in this section, the word ''authority'' shall mean an organization or the authorized agent of an organization that seizes or impounds an animal pursuant to the General Laws. (b) If an animal is seized or impounded pursuant to section 112 of chapter 266 or…

Section 105. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Electronically surveils'' or ''electronically surveilled'', to view, obtain or record a person's visual image by the use or aid of a ca…

Section 106. (a) A person commits the crime of stolen valor if that person knowingly, with the intent to obtain money, property or any other tangible benefit: (i) fraudulently represents such person to be an active member or veteran of the United States Navy, Army, Air Force, Mar…

Section 107. The court shall transmit fines collected pursuant to section 8 and subsection (b) and subsection (c) of section 53A to the state treasurer. The treasurer shall deposit such fines into the Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund established pursuant to section 66A of …

Section 11. A person shall not be convicted under sections 2, 4 and 6 upon the evidence of one witness only, unless his testimony is corroborated in a material particular, and prosecution for a violation of any of said sections shall not be commenced more than one year after the …

Section 12. Whoever knowingly procures, entices, sends, or aids or abets in procuring, enticing or sending, a person to practice prostitution, or to enter as an inmate or a servant a house of ill fame or other place resorted to for prostitution, whether within or without the comm…

Section 13. Whoever, for any length of time, unlawfully detains or attempts to detain, or aids or abets in unlawfully detaining or attempting to detain, or provides or administers or aids or abets in providing or administering any drug or liquor for the purpose of detaining a per…

Section 15. Whoever, having a former husband or wife living, marries another person or continues to cohabit with a second husband or wife in the commonwealth shall be guilty of polygamy, and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail f…

Section 16. A man or woman, married or unmarried, who is guilty of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than two years or by a fine of not more than three hundr…

Section 17. Persons within degrees of consanguinity within which marriages are prohibited or declared by law to be incestuous and void, who intermarry or have sexual intercourse with each other, or who engage in sexual activities with each other, including but not limited to, ora…

Section 2. Whoever fraudulently and deceitfully entices or takes away a person from the house of his parent or guardian or elsewhere, for the purpose of prostitution or for the purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse, and whoever aids and assists in such abduction for such purpose…

Section 21A. An authorized health care provider may administer or prescribe to any person drugs or articles for the prevention of pregnancy or conception. A registered pharmacist may provide such drugs or articles to any person presenting a prescription from an authorized health …

Section 21B. No privately controlled hospital or other health facility shall be required to admit any patient for the purpose of performing an abortion, performing any sterilization procedure, or receiving contraceptive devices or information. No privately controlled hospital or …

Section 22. A parent who conceals the death of the issue of such parent, which if born alive would be a child born out of wedlock, so that it cannot be ascertained whether it was born alive or, if born alive, whether it was murdered, shall be punished by a fine of not more than o…

Section 23. A parent indicted for murder of the infant child born out of wedlock of such parent may also be charged in the same indictment with the crime described in the preceding section, and if acquitted of murder, such parent may be convicted of the concealment.

Section 24. Whoever keeps a house of ill fame which is resorted to for prostitution or lewdness shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years.

Section 25. Any person owning, managing or controlling a restaurant, tavern or other place in any town, where food or drink is sold to the public to be consumed upon the premises or required to be licensed under chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, and any employee of such perso…

Section 26. Whoever, for the purpose of immoral solicitation or immoral bargaining, shall resort to any café, restaurant, tavern, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, or other place where food or drink is sold or served to be consumed upon the premis…

Section 27. The clerk of the court in which any person is convicted of a violation of either of the two preceding sections shall forthwith send a copy of the record of such conviction to the officer or board issuing any license or licenses under which the place where the offence …

Section 28. Whoever purposefully disseminates to a person he knows or believes to be a minor any matter harmful to minors, as defined in section 31, knowing it to be harmful to minors, or has in his possession any such matter with the intent to disseminate the same to a person he…

Section 28C. Whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that a book which is being disseminated, or is in the possession of any person who intends to disseminate the same, is obscene, the attorney general, or any district attorney within his district, shall bring an informatio…

Section 28D. Any person interested in the dissemination of said book may appear and file an answer on or before the return day named in said notice or within such further time as the court may allow, and may claim a right to trial by jury on the issue whether said book is obscene…

Section 28E. If no person appears and answers within the time allowed, the court may at once upon motion of the petitioner, or of its own motion, no reason to the contrary appearing, order a general default and if the court finds that the book is obscene, may make an adjudication…

Section 28F. If an appearance is entered and answer filed, the case shall be set down for speedy hearing, but a default and order shall first be entered against all persons who have not appeared and answered, in the manner provided in section twenty-eight E. Such hearing shall be…

Section 28G. An information or petition in equity under the provisions of section twenty-eight C shall not be open to objection on the ground that a mere judgment, order or decree is sought thereby and that no relief is or could be claimed thereunder on the issue of the defendant…

Section 28H. In any trial under section twenty-nine on an indictment found or a complaint made for any offence committed after the filing of a proceeding under section twenty-eight C, the fact of such filing and the action of the court or jury thereon, if any, shall be admissible…

Section 28I. The procedures set forth in sections twenty-eight C, twenty-eight D, twenty-eight E, twenty-eight G and twenty-eight H shall be a condition precedent to the institution of any proceedings pursuant to section twenty-nine or thirty for dissemination of obscene books.

Section 29. Whoever disseminates any matter which is obscene, knowing it to be obscene, or whoever has in his possession any matter which is obscene, knowing it to be obscene, with the intent to disseminate the same, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not m…

Section 29A. (a) Whoever, either with knowledge that a person is a child under eighteen years of age or while in possession of such facts that he should have reason to know that such person is a child under eighteen years of age, and with lascivious intent, hires, coerces, solici…

Section 29B. (a) Whoever, with lascivious intent, disseminates any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of any posture or exhibition in a state of nudity involving the use of a child who is under eighteen years of age, knowing the contents of such visual…

Section 29C. Whoever knowingly purchases or possesses a negative, slide, book, magazine, film, videotape, photograph or other similar visual reproduction, or depiction by computer, of any child whom the person knows or reasonably should know to be under the age of 18 years of age…

Section 29D. (a) Whoever, while under the age of criminal majority, possesses, purchases or disseminates, including by uploading to an internet website, any visual material, as defined in section 31, in violation of section 29B or 29C may be punished in accordance with section 58…

Section 3. Whoever applies, administers to or causes to be taken by a person any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy or overpower such person so as to thereby enable any person to have sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with such person shall be punished …

Section 30. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin the dissemination of any matter which is obscene. The attorney general or a district attorney within his district may request an injunction against any person, firm, or corporation which disseminates or is about to …

Section 30D. The superior court shall also have jurisdiction to enjoin the dissemination of any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of any posture or exhibition in a state of nudity or of any act that depicts, describes, or represents sexual conduct par…

Section 31. As used in sections twenty-eight, twenty-eight C, twenty-eight D, twenty-eight E, twenty-nine, twenty-nine A, twenty-nine B, thirty and thirty D, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Disseminate'', to import…

Section 32. The provisions of sections twenty-eight, twenty-nine and twenty-nine A shall not apply to a manager or a motion picture operator or assistant operator licensed under sections seventy-five and seventy-six, respectively, of chapter one hundred and forty-three, who is em…

Section 33. Whoever exhibits for hire an albino person, a minor or mentally ill person who is deformed or a person who has an appearance of deformity produced by artificial means shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.

Section 34. Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature, either with mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years.

Section 35. Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with another person shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction f…

Section 35A. Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with a child under the age of sixteen shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail o…

Section 36. Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously …

Section 36A. Whoever, having arrived at the age of sixteen years, directs any profane, obscene or impure language or slanderous statement at a participant or an official in a sporting event, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

Section 38. Whoever wilfully interrupts or disturbs an assembly of people met for worship of God shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

Section 39. Whoever, during the time of holding a camp or field meeting for religious purposes, and within one mile of the place thereof, hawks or peddles goods, wares or merchandise, or establishes or maintains a tent, booth or building for vending provisions or refreshments, or…

Section 4. Whoever induces any person under 18 years of age of chaste life to have unlawful sexual intercourse shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by a …

Section 40. Whoever willfully interrupts or disturbs an assembly of people meeting for a lawful purpose shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 1 month or by a fine of not more than $50; provided, however, that an elementary or secondary student shall not be adjudged …

Section 40A. Whoever gives, sells, delivers or has in his possession any alcoholic beverage, except for medicinal purposes, in any public school building, or on any premises used for public school purposes and under the charge of a school committee or other public board or office…