We review the trial court’s order granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss nineteen counts of the information against Kimberly Brabson, III. Those counts charged the defendant, Brabson, with promotion of a sexual performance by a child, in violation of section 827.071(3), Florida Statutes (2007). We reverse because, under the facts of this case, the determination of whether a particular performance constitutes “actual lewd exhibition of the genitals” creates a factual inquiry for a jury and not a legal question for the court.
Defendant coached a girls’ swim team at the school where he was employed. Over a period of several months, defendant approached numerous girls on the swim team with variations of the same story. The girls were asked to try on the swimsuits under the pretense of determining sizes for purposes of placing orders for the team swimsuits. Brabson convinced the girls to try on the swimsuits in his office. Unbeknownst to the girls, prior to their entering, Brabson had set up a video camera in his office and had positioned the swimsuits at specific locations that would place the girls within the camera’s view as they changed clothing.
The video tape created by the defendant is essentially broken up into three distinct parts. In the first portion of the video, the bathing suits are placed at a certain distance away from the girls such that the camera’s view ranges from below the shoulders of each of the victims to above their knees. The faces of the girls are visible depending on the individual victim’s height and whether she bends down. Brabson is clearly seen setting up the camera and positioning the bathing suits in his office at various points throughout the video while the girls are out of his office.
The footage of the second segment of the video shows that Brabson modified the location of the camera within the office and also altered the proximity of the bathing suits to the camera. During the second segment of the video, the camera was placed much closer to the victims as they undressed, causing them to be videotaped at waist-level. This segment clearly focused on the genital region of the victims when they faced the camera. The third segment of the video essentially contains the same footage as the first segment, but retains the actual time lag in between girls entering and exiting Brabson’s office. 1
In response to the charges, Brab-son filed a motion to dismiss the nineteen counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child. The court granted the motion and dismissed all nineteen counts. We review this matter de novo.
See State v.
*1121
Pasko,
In criminal cases, motions to dismiss should be granted as sparingly as motions for summary judgment in civil cases.
State v. Ortiz,
Section 827.071(3), Florida Statutes (2007) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
A person is guilty of promoting a sexual performance by a child when, knowing the character and content thereof, he or she produces, directs, or promotes any performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than 18 years of age. Whoever violates this subsection is guilty of a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
“Sexual performance” is defined as:
Any performance or part thereof which includes sexual conduct by a child of less than 18 years of age.
Section 827.071(l)(h), Florida Statutes (2007).
“Sexual conduct” is defined within the statute as:
actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, or sadomasochistic abuse; actual lewd exhibition of the genitals; actual physical contact with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or, if such person is a female, breast, with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of either party; or any act or conduct which constitutes sexual battery or simulates that sexual battery is being or will be committed. A mother’s breastfeeding of her baby does not under any circumstance constitute “sexual conduct.”
Section 827.071(l)(g), Florida Statutes (2007) (emphasis added).
The Florida Supreme Court interpreted an earlier version of section 827.071 in
Schmitt v. State,
While it is conceivable that one might view the allegations in the present affidavit as depicting simple nudity, we believe the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding otherwise. The affidavit’s factual allegations indicated that Schmitt did not treat the nudity of himself, his daughter, and others in the offhand, natural manner that might be expected if the conduct were purely innocent-for example, if they were nudists. Rather, the affidavit shows he made nudity a central and almost obsessive object of his attention. Thus, the magistrate reasonably could have believed that Schmitt’s conduct toward his daughter included the “lewdness” element required by the statute. While nudity alone would not have sufficed, this overall focus of Schmitt’s conduct tended to show a lewd intent and thus created a substantial basis for believing that the search would fairly probably yield evidence of a violation of section 827.071. Thus, the magistrate must be upheld. [Illinois v.] Gates [462 U.S. 213 ] 103 S.Ct. [2317] at 2332 [76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) ].
Schmitt,
Thus, the lewdness requirement under section 827.071(l)(g) may be satisfied by the intent of the person promoting the performance which included sexual conduct by the child. See id. In the case before us, the victims were completely unaware that they were being filmed and any right to privacy they may have expected while changing in the closed, windowless office was violated. Furthermore, the girls were not engaged in what could be considered typical day-to-day activities as they were most certainly manipulated into changing their clothes, which they would not otherwise have done in Brabson’s office.
Although there are no Florida cases addressing the specific facts before us, other jurisdictions have addressed similar statutes in nearly identical factual scenarios. For example, one Ohio court applied a similar statute prohibiting the creation, production, direction or transfer of material or a performance that shows a minor in a state of nudity, in a case where the owner of a tanning salon was secretly recording his female patrons during tanning sessions, including at least one underage girl.
3
State v. Huffman,
In this case, the state presented evidence of two digital videos of a 16-year-old gill as she used Huffman’s tanning facilities on two different dates. The images were captured by a camera hidden behind a fan near the tanning bed. The camera was positioned to focus on the girl’s genitals. During the recording of one of the videos, the camera was manually adjusted to capture a clearer image of the girl’s genitals.
Given the secretive nature of the videotaping and its blatant focus on the victim’s genitals, we hold that the state presented sufficient evidence of lewdness to sustain Huffman’s convictions for illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance.
Id.
at 534,
The
Fletcher
opinion relied on
Lockwood v. State,
The issue presented for our determination is whether the tape contained a presentation that defendant knew included sexual conduct by a child. The record reflects that the tape does not show a presentation of sexual conduct as defined by the statute. The presentation shows, rather, the innocent, normal everyday occurrence of a female child undressing, showering, performing acts of female hygiene and donning her clothes, none of which meets any of the detailed sexual acts contained in the statute. It thus appears that the motion for judgment of acquittal should have been granted.
Id. at 58.
The case before us, however, does not involve mere nudity as did
Fletcher
and
Lockwood,
nor does it involve “normal everyday occurrence[s] of a female child undressing.”
See Lockwood,
In deciding cases involving the photography of nude minors, other jurisdictions have found that “the issue ... becomes whether lewdness is determined only by what is depicted, by the photographer’s intent, or both.”
Purcell v. Commonwealth of Kentucky,
[T]he [.Dost ] court enumerated six factors that may be considered in determining whether a particular exhibition is lewd, viz:
1) whether the focal point of the visual depiction is the child’s genitalia or pubic area;
2) whether the setting of the visual depiction is sexually suggestive, i.e., in a place or pose generally associated with sexual activity;
3) whether the child is depicted in an unnatural pose, or in inappropriate attire, considering the age of the child;
4) whether the child is fully or partially clothed, or nude;
5) whether the visual depiction suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity;
6) whether the visual depiction is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer.
Purcell,
We find the
Dost
test helpful in determining whether a particular exhibition is lewd. In the case before us, at least two of the factors are present. While the initial part of the tape shows a wider angle and focuses mainly on the area between the victims’ shoulders and above the knees, during the second segment, the defendant modified the camera’s location as well as the placement of the bathing suits so that “the focal point of the visual depiction is on the child’s genitalia or pubic area.”
See Dost,
Accordingly, whether a depiction meets the
Dost
test is best left to the fact-finder.
Purcell,
Reversed and remanded.
Notes
. The first segment appears to edit together the same separate instances visible in the third segment, but without the natural progression of time in between different girls present in the third segment.
. The relevant language in section 827.071, for purposes of this opinion, is unchanged.
. The statute applied was Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2907.323(A)(1).
