Title XXXVIII, CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT; PEACE OFFICERS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS

573.024. Enabling sexual exploitation of a minor, offense of — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of enabling sexual exploitation of a minor if such person acting with criminal negligence permits or allows any violation of section 566.210, 566.211, 573.020, 573.023, 573.0…

573.025. Promoting child sexual abuse material in the first degree — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of promoting child sexual abuse material in the first degree if, knowing of its content and character, such person possesses with the intent to promote or promotes ch…

573.030. Promoting obscenity in the second degree — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of promoting pornography for minors or obscenity in the second degree if, knowing of its content and character, he or she: (1) Promotes or possesses with the purpose to promote any ob…

573.035. Promoting child sexual abuse material in the second degree — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of promoting child sexual abuse material in the second degree if, knowing of its content and character, such person possesses with the intent to promote or promotes …

573.037. Possession of child sexual abuse material — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of possession of child sexual abuse material if such person knowingly or recklessly possesses any child sexual abuse material of a minor less than eighteen years of age or obscene mate…

573.038. Property or material constituting child pornography to remain in custody of the state — availability of, when. — 1. In any criminal proceeding, any property or material that constitutes child pornography as it existed prior to August 28, 2026, or child sexual abuse mater…

573.040. Furnishing pornographic materials to minors — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of furnishing pornographic material to minors if, knowing of its content and character, he or she: (1) Furnishes any material pornographic for minors, knowing that the person to whom…

573.050. Evidence in obscenity and child pornography or child sexual abuse material cases. — 1. In any prosecution under this chapter evidence shall be admissible to show: (1) What the predominant appeal of the material or performance would be for ordinary adults or minors; (2) T…

573.052. Child sexual abuse material, attorney general authorized to investigate, when — violator immune from civil liability, when. — Upon receipt of any information that child sexual abuse material as defined in section 573.010 is contained on a website, the attorney general sh…

573.060. Public display of explicit sexual material — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of public display of explicit sexual material if he or she recklessly: (1) Exposes, places, exhibits, or in any fashion, displays explicit sexual material in any location, whether p…

573.065. Coercing acceptance of obscene material — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of coercing acceptance of obscene material if such person knowingly: (1) Requires acceptance of obscene material as a condition to any sale, allocation, consignment or delivery of any ot…

573.070. Injunctions and declaratory judgments. — 1. Whenever material or a performance is being or is about to be promoted, furnished or displayed in violation of this chapter, a civil action may be instituted in the circuit court by the prosecuting or circuit attorney or by the…

573.080. Preemption and standardization — cities, towns, and certain counties may regulate, limitations. — The general assembly by enacting this chapter intends to preempt any other regulation of the area covered by section 573.020, to promote statewide control of pornography, an…

573.090. Video cassettes, morbid violence, to be kept in separate area — sale or rental to persons under seventeen prohibited, penalties. — 1. Video cassettes or other video reproduction devices, or the jackets, cases or coverings of such video reproduction devices shall be displ…

573.100. Telephones, obscene or indecent commercial messages, direct or electronic recording, penalties, exceptions. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean: (1) "Indecent", language or material that depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by …

573.110. Nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, offense of — citation of law — definitions — elements — exemptions — immunity from liability, when — penalty — private cause of action, when. — 1. This section and sections 573.112* and 573.114 shall be known and may …

573.112. Threatening the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, offense of — elements — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of threatening the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images if he or she gains or attempts to gain anything of value, or…

573.114. Restitution for offense of threatening the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. — Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 557.011, 558.019, and 559.021 to the contrary, a person found guilty of violating section 573.110 or 573.112 shall be ordered by …

573.200. Child used in sexual performance — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of use of a child in a sexual performance if, knowing the character and content thereof, the person employs, authorizes, or induces a child less than eighteen years of age to engage in a perf…

573.205. Promoting sexual performance by a child — penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of promoting a sexual performance by a child if, knowing the character and content thereof, the person promotes a performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than eightee…

573.206. Patronizing a sexual performance of a child, offense of — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of patronizing a sexual performance by a child if such person obtains, solicits, or participates in a sexual performance by a child under eighteen years of age. 2. The of…

573.215. Failure to report child sexual abuse material — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of failure to report child sexual abuse material if he or she being a film and photographic print processor, computer provider, installer or repair person, or any internet service …

573.503. Local government may require background checks. — Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any city not within a county and any county may, by order or ordinance, require a background check be conducted on all employees of any adult cabaret to ascertain whet…

573.505. Sales tax authorized, vote required — ballot — disposition of revenue — termination — city and county background check tax trust fund created, refunds — duties of director of revenue. — 1. In order to defray the costs of background checks conducted pursuant to section 57…

573.507. Minimum age limit — security personnel — random drug testing — space limitation — prohibition of public displays. — 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any city not within a county and any county may establish a minimum age limit for admission into a…

573.509. Adult cabaret, persons less than nineteen years of age prohibited from dancing, penalty. — 1. No person less than nineteen years of age shall dance in an adult cabaret, nor shall any proprietor of such establishment permit any person less than nineteen years of age to da…

573.525. Purpose — findings. — 1. It is the purpose of sections 573.525 to 573.537 to regulate sexually oriented businesses in order to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of this state, and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent th…

573.531. Establishment of business, prohibited where — nudity in establishment prohibited — display of sexual activities, requirements — state requirements — hours of operation — minors and alcohol prohibited — definitions. — 1. No person shall establish a sexually oriented busin…

573.534. Strict liability not imposed — mental state required for violation — act by employee not imputed to the business, when. — Sections 573.525 to 573.537 do not impose strict liability. Unless a culpable mental state is otherwise specified herein, a showing of a knowing or r…

573.537. Violations, penalty — public nuisance for repeated violations — state remedies permitted. — 1. Any person, business, or entity violating or refusing to comply with any provision of sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and …

573.540. No state preemption on regulation — consistency with state law required for local law. — 1. Nothing in sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall be construed as preempting or preventing any political subdivision of this state from maintaining, enacting, or enforcing any local or…

573.550. Providing explicit sexual material to a student, offense of — penalty — definitions. — 1. A person commits the offense of providing explicit sexual material to a student if such person is affiliated with a public or private elementary or secondary school in an official c…

573.570. Disclosure of an intimate digital depiction, offense of — definitions — violation, penalties. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean: (1) "Depicted individual", an individual who, as a result of digitization or by means of digital manipulation, appears in…

573.575. Sadistic online exploitation, offense of — violation, penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of sadistic online exploitation if he or she: (1) Uses the internet to manipulate, intimidate, hurt, scare, control, or threaten a victim to undergo suffering through forcing…

574.005. Definitions — As used in this chapter the following terms mean: (1) "Private property", any place which at the time of the offense is not open to the public. It includes property which is owned publicly or privately; (2) "Property of another", any property in which the p…

574.010. Peace disturbance — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of peace disturbance if he or she: (1) Unreasonably and knowingly disturbs or alarms another person or persons by: (a) Loud noise; or (b) Offensive language addressed in a face-to-face manner to a specific in…

574.020. Private peace disturbance — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of private peace disturbance if he or she is on private property and unreasonably and purposely causes alarm to another person or persons on the same premises by: (1) Threatening to commit an offense …

574.035. Disrupting a house of worship — penalty. — 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "House of Worship Protection Act". 2. For purposes of this section, "house of worship" means any church, synagogue, mosque, other building or structure, or public or private…

574.040. Unlawful assembly — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of unlawful assembly if he or she knowingly assembles with six or more other persons and agrees with such persons to violate any of the criminal laws of this state or of the United States with force or violen…

574.060. Refusal to disperse — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of refusal to disperse if, being present at the scene of an unlawful assembly, or at the scene of a riot, he or she knowingly fails or refuses to obey the lawful command of a law enforcement officer to depa…

574.070. Promoting civil disorder in the first degree — penalty. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean: (1) "Civil disorder", any public disturbance involving acts of violence by assemblages of three or more persons, which causes an immediate danger of or results…

574.075. Drunkenness or drinking in certain places prohibited — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of drunkenness or drinking in a prohibited place if he or she enters any schoolhouse or church house in which there is an assemblage of people, met for a lawful purpose, or …

574.080. Causing catastrophe — definitions — penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of causing catastrophe if he or she knowingly causes a catastrophe by explosion, fire, flood, collapse of a building, release of poison, radioactive material, bacteria, virus or other dangerou…

574.085. Institutional vandalism, offense of — violation, penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of institutional vandalism if he or she knowingly vandalizes, defaces, or otherwise damages: (1) Any church, synagogue or other building, structure or place used for religious wor…

574.105. Money laundering — penalty. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean: (1) "Conducts", initiating, concluding or participating in initiating or concluding a transaction; (2) "Criminal activity", any act or activity constituting an offense punishable as…

574.110. Using a laser pointer, offense of — violation, penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of using a laser pointer if such person knowingly directs a light from a laser pointer at a uniformed safety officer, including a peace officer as defined under section 590.010, sec…