Chapter 61, Chapter 61

(a) It is unlawful for any person to bet or wager money or any other thing of value in any location or place where an animal fighting venture occurs. (b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined…

The amendments made to this article during the 2017 legislative session shall be known as Emmaleigh’s Law.

(a) Whether or not specifically stated, it is an element of every offense defined in this article that the sexual act was committed without the consent of the victim. (b) Lack of consent results from: (1) Forcible compulsion; (2) Incapacity to consent; or (3) If the offense charg…

(a) If any parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position of trust in relation to a child, shall maliciously and intentionally cause the death of a child under his or her care, custody or control by his or her failure or refusal to supply the child with necessary food, cl…

(a) Any person who causes or knowingly permits, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces such minor to engage in or uses such minor to do or assist in any sexually explicit conduct is guilty of a felony when the act is being used to create a visual portrayal. Upon conviction…

The preceding section shall not extend to a person whose former husband or wife has been continuously absent from such person for seven years next before the marriage of such person to another, and shall not have been known by such person to be living within that time; nor to a p…

(a) Any adult, with knowledge of the character of the matter, who knowingly and intentionally distributes, offers to distribute, or displays to a minor any obscene matter, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $25,000, or confined in a s…

As used in this article: (1) “Disabled child” means a child with any physical, intellectual, developmental, communication, or psychological disability or impairment. A disability includes , but is not limited to one that: (A) Limits the child’s ability to recognize abuse, unlawfu…

Whoever keeps or uses a live bird to be shot at either for amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship, or shoots at a bird kept or used as aforesaid, or is a party to such shooting, or lets any building, room, field, or premises, or knowingly permits the use thereof, for the…

If complaint is made to a court or magistrate which is authorized to issue warrants in criminal cases that the complainant believes, and has reasonable cause to believe, that the laws relative to cruelty to animals have been or are violated in any particular building or place, su…

If complaint is made to a court or magistrate authorized to issue warrants in criminal cases that the complainant believes, and has reasonable cause to believe, that preparations are being made for an exhibition of the fighting of birds, dogs, or other animals, or that such exhib…

Any officer authorized to serve criminal process may, without warrant, enter any place, building, or tenement in which there is an exhibition of the fighting of birds, dogs, or other animals, or in which preparations are being made for such an exhibition and arrest all persons th…

Any person, having the care, custody, or control, lawful or unlawful, of any minor child under the age of eighteen years, who shall use such minor, or apprentice, give away, let out, hire or otherwise dispose of, such minor child to any person, for the purposes of singing, playin…

Any person, having the care, custody, or control of any minor child under the age of fifteen years, who shall in any manner sell, apprentice, give away or permit such child to sing, dance, act, or in any manner exhibit it in any dance house, concert saloon, theater or place of en…

Any proprietor or any person in charge of a dance house, concert saloon, theater, museum, or similar place of amusement, or other place, where wines or spirituous or malt liquors are sold or given away, or any place of entertainment injurious to health or morals who admits or per…

Any person who exhibits or displays a false or erroneous birth certificate, draft card, registration card or certificate, license, or identification card or certificate of any kind or character, or who exhibits or displays any certificate, card or license of any kind or character…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the words or terms defined in this subsection have the meanings ascribed to them. These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (1) “A person fully or partially nude” means a male or female who …

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Disclose” means to publish, publicly display, distribute, deliver, circulate or disseminate by any means, including, but not limited to, electronic transmission. (2) “Image” means a photograph, videotape, motion picture film, digital recording or…

(a) Any person serving a period of supervised release of ten years or more pursuant to the provision of section twenty-six, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code who loiters within one thousand feet of the property line of the residence or workplace of a victim of a sexu…

(a) If any parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position of trust in relation to a child maliciously and intentionally inflicts upon a child under his or her care, custody, or control substantial physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition by other th…

(a) If a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust in relation to a child abuses a child and by the abuse causes the child bodily injury as the term is defined in §61-8B-1 of this code, then the parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust in …

The criminal provisions of section two of this article do not apply to: (a) A bona fide school, in the presentation of local or state approved curriculum; (b) A public library, or museum, which is displaying or distributing any obscene matter to a minor only when the minor was ac…

(a) Any person in a position of trust in relation to a disabled child, who has supervisory responsibility over a disabled child, and who repeatedly engages in conduct, verbal or otherwise toward the child in an insulting, demeaning, or threatening manner, is guilty of a misdemean…

(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the first degree when: (1) The person engages in sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion with another person and, in so doing: (A) Inflicts serious bodily injury upon anyone; (ii) (B) Employs a deadly weapon in the commission of the act.…

(a) Any person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent or distributes, exhibits, possesses, electronically accesses with intent to view or displays or transports any visual portrayal of a minor engaged in any sexually explicit conduct or computer-generated child pornography is g…

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Disclose” means to sell, manufacture, give, provide, lend, trade, mail, deliver, transfer, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, advertise, offer or otherwise make available or make known to any third party. (2) “First re…

(a) In this section, unless a different meaning plainly is required: (1) “Client” or “patient” means a person who is being treated clinically or medically by a psychotherapist for more than one session or initial visit. (2) "Psychotherapist" means any of the following: (A) A psyc…

(a) Any person over the age of 18, who by means other than those prohibited by §61-3C-14b of this code, who knowingly solicits, entices, seduces, or lures, or attempts to solicit, entice, seduce or lure, a minor known or believed to be at least four years younger than the person,…

(a) Any person age 18 or over who knowingly and intentionally produces, possesses, displays or distributes, in any form, any visual portrayals of minors who are partially clothed, where the visual portrayals are: (1) Unrelated to the sale of a commercially available legal product…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, any person who circumcises, excises or infibulates, in whole or in part, the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris of a female under the age of 18, or any parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position …

(a) Any minor who intentionally possesses, creates, produces, distributes, presents, transmits, posts, exchanges, or otherwise disseminates any computer-generated child pornography or a visual portrayal of another minor posing in an inappropriate sexual manner or who distributes,…

(a) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the lawful investigation and/or prosecution of the criminal offenses described in this article: Provided, That prohibited media or visual portrayal described in this article shall not be published to the public at any time…

In addition to any penalty provided under this article and any restitution which may be ordered by the court under article eleven-a of this chapter, the court may order any person convicted under the provisions of this article to pay all or any portion of the cost of medical, psy…

(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the second degree when: (1) Such person engages in sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion with another person without the person's consent, and the lack of consent results from forcible compulsion; or (2) Such person engages in sexual i…

(a) If a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust in relation to a child neglects a child and by such neglect causes the child bodily injury, as bodily injury is defined in §61-8B-1 of this code, then the parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position o…

(a) Any person in a position of trust to a disabled child, with supervisory responsibility over the child who unlawfully and intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting and provoking nature to the person of the disabled child or unlawfully causes physical harm to the dis…

Any adult, having knowledge of the character of the matter, who knows or believes that a person is a minor at least four years younger than the adult, and distributes, offers to distribute or displays by any means any obscene matter to the person who is known or believed to be a …

(a) If any parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position of trust in relation to a child shall neglect a child under his or her care, custody or control and by such neglect cause the death of said child, then such parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position of…

(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the third degree when: (1) The person engages in sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion with another person who is mentally defective or mentally incapacitated; or (2) The person is 16 years old or more and engages in sexual intercourse…

(a) Any person in a position of trust in relation to a disabled child who is subject to the mandatory reporting requirements in §49-2-803 of this code who fails to make a required report regarding a disabled child is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be confined …

(a) In addition to any other offenses set forth in this code, the Legislature hereby declares a separate and distinct offense under this subsection, as follows: If any parent, guardian or custodian of or other person in a position of trust in relation to a child under his or her …

(a) Any person who shall keep, set up, maintain, or operate any house, place, building, hotel, tourist camp, other structure, or part thereof, or vehicle, trailer, or other conveyance for the purpose of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation; or who shall own any place, house, ho…

(a) In any prosecution under this article, the court may provide by rule for reasonable limits on the number of interviews to which a victim who is eleven years old or less must submit for law enforcement or discovery purposes. The rule shall to the extent possible protect the me…

Any adult who, with knowledge that a person is a minor or who fails to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the age of a minor, hires, employs or uses such minor to produce obscene matter or to do or assist in doing any sexually explicit conduct, is guilty of a felony and, up…

(a) As used in this section: "Adult" means a person 18 years of age or older. “Consideration” includes, but is not limited to, sexual contact, sexual intercourse, and sexual intrusion as those terms are defined in §61-8B-1, and private images as that term is defined in this subse…

Any parent, guardian or custodian, or person in a position of trust who, with knowledge, sends or causes to be sent, or distributes, exhibits, possesses, displays or transports, any material visually portraying a child under his or her care, custody or control engaged in any sexu…

(a) The West Virginia Department of Education in collaboration with the Secretary of Human Services shall: (1) On or before January 1, 2023, develop, produce, and disseminate an eight-hour education program for people employed in or to be employed in the care, housing, and educat…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the seizure and sale of items under the provisions of this article is not contemplated to be a forfeiture as the same is used in article twelve, section five of the West Virginia Constitution and to the extent that such seizure and s…

Whoever shall by any means keep, hold, detain or restrain any person in a house of prostitution or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed; or whoever shall, directly or indirectly, keep, hold, detain or restrain, or attempt to keep, hold, detain or restrain, in an…

Any person who presents false information concerning acts or conduct which would constitute an offense under the provisions of this article to attending medical personnel shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more th…