CHAPTER 26-10
OFFENSES BY AND AGAINST MINORS
26-10-1 Abuse of or cruelty to minor as felony--Reasonable force as defense--Limitation of action.
26-10-1.1 26-10-1.1. Transferred to § 26-8A-23
26-10-2 26-10-2. Repealed by SL 1978, ch 159, § 1
26-10-2.1 Professional boxing by minors prohibited.
26-10-3 26-10-3. Repealed by SL 1971, ch 211, § 121
26-10-4 26-10-4. Repealed by SL 1977, ch 189, § 126
26-10-6 26-10-6. Repealed by SL 1977, ch 189, § 126
26-10-7 26-10-7. Repealed by SL 1974, ch 243, § 1
26-10-8 26-10-8. Repealed by SL 1979, ch 173
26-10-9 26-10-9. Repealed by SL 1994, ch 172, § 3
26-10-10 26-10-10 to 26-10-12.2. Transferred to §§ 26-8A-3 to 26-8A-10
26-10-12.3 26-10-12.3. Transferred to § 26-8A-13
26-10-14 26-10-14, 26-10-15. Transferred to §§ 26-8A-14, 26-8A-15
26-10-16 26-10-16, 26-10-17. Transferred to §§ 26-8A-17, 26-8A-18
26-10-17.1 26-10-17.1. Transferred to § 25-4-45.4
26-10-18 26-10-18. Transferred to § 26-8A-16
26-10-19 Tattooing minor without parental consent as misdemeanor.
26-10-20 Repealed.
26-10-21 26-10-21, 26-10-22. Repealed by SL 1994, ch 280, §§ 6, 7
26-10-23 26-10-23. Repealed by SL 1998, ch 215, § 2
26-10-24 Repealed.
26-10-25 Time for commencing civil action for damages resulting from childhood sexual abuse.
26-10-26 Date of discovery in child sexual abuse action.
26-10-27 Knowledge of parent or guardian.
26-10-28 "Child" defined.
26-10-29 "Childhood sexual abuse" defined.
26-10-30 Permitting physical or sexual abuse of child as felony--Affirmative defense.
26-10-31 Causing child to be present where methamphetamines used, distributed, or manufactured as misdemeanor.
26-10-32 Branding of a minor prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor or felony.
26-10-33 Juvenile sexting prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
26-10-34 Defenses to juvenile sexting.
26-10-35 Depiction of person charged not a defense to juvenile sexting.
26-10-1. Abuse of or cruelty to minor as felony--Reasonable force as defense--Limitation of action.
Any person who abuses, exposes, tortures, torments, or cruelly punishes a minor in a manner which does not constitute aggravated assault, is guilty of a Class 4 felony. If the victim is less than seven years of age, the person is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The use of reasonable force, as provided in § 22-18-5, is a defense to an offense under this section. Notwithstanding § 23A-42-2, a charge brought pursuant to this section may be commenced at any time before the victim becomes age twenty-five.
If any person convicted of this offense is the minor's parent, guardian, or custodian, the court shall include as part of the sentence, or conditions required as part of suspended execution or imposition of such sentence, that the person receive instruction on parenting approved or provided by the Department of Social Services.
Source: SDC 1939, §§ 13.3301, 13.3303; SDCL § 26-10-5; SL 1969, ch 32; SL 1975, ch 179, § 1; SL 1977, ch 189, § 96; SL 1983, ch 211, § 2; SL 1998, ch 162, § 3; SL 2001, ch 145, § 1; SL 2008, ch 140, § 1.
26-10-2.1. Professional boxing by minors prohibited.
No person under the age of eighteen years shall box professionally in the State of South Dakota.
Source: SL 1978, ch 301, § 2.
26-10-19. Tattooing minor without parental consent as misdemeanor.
No minor may be tattooed unless the minor's parents have signed a consent form authorizing the tattoo. Any person who tattoos a minor without parental consent is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. The term "tattoo" means to make permanent marks or designs on the skin by puncturing it and inserting indelible colors.
Source: SL 1985, ch 216, §§ 1, 2.
26-10-25. Time for commencing civil action for damages resulting from childhood sexual abuse.
Any civil action based on intentional conduct brought by any person for recovery of damages for injury suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse shall be commenced within three years of the act alleged to have caused the injury or condition, or three years of the time the victim discovered or reasonably should have discovered that the injury or condition was caused by the act, whichever period expires later. However, no person who has reached the age of forty years may recover damages from any person or entity other than the person who perpetrated the actual act of sexual abuse.
Source: SL 1991, ch 219, § 1; SL 2010, ch 141, § 1.
26-10-26. Date of discovery in child sexual abuse action.
The victim need not establish which act in a series of continuing sexual abuse or exploitation incidents caused the injury complained of, but may compute the date of discovery from the date of discovery of the last act by the same perpetrator which is part of a common course of conduct of sexual abuse or exploitation.
Source: SL 1991, ch 219, § 2.
26-10-27. Knowledge of parent or guardian.
The knowledge of a custodial parent or guardian may not be imputed to a person under the age of eighteen years for the purposes of §§ 26-10-25 to 26-10-29, inclusive.
Source: SL 1991, ch 219, § 3.
26-10-28. "Child" defined.
For the purposes of §§ 26-10-25 to 26-10-29, inclusive, a child is any person under the age of eighteen years.
Source: SL 1991, ch 219, § 4.
26-10-29. "Childhood sexual abuse" defined.
As used in §§ 26-10-25 to 26-10-29, inclusive, childhood sexual abuse is any act committed by the defendant against the complainant who was less than eighteen years of age at the time of the act and which act would have been a violation of chapter 22-22 or prior laws of similar effect at the time the act was committed which act would have constituted a felony.
Source: SL 1991, ch 219, § 5.
26-10-30. Permitting physical or sexual abuse of child as felony--Affirmative defense.
It is a Class 6 felony for any parent, guardian, or custodian to knowingly permit physical or sexual abuse of a child.
It is an affirmative defense, to be proven by clear and convincing evidence, to prosecution under this section if, at the time of the offense, there was a reasonable belief that acting to stop or to prevent the abuse would result in substantial bodily harm to the defendant or the child in retaliation.
Source: SL 2006, ch 146, § 1.
26-10-31. Causing child to be present where methamphetamines used, distributed, or manufactured as misdemeanor.
It is a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to knowingly cause a child to be present where any person is using, distributing, or manufacturing methamphetamines.
Source: SL 2006, ch 146, § 2.
26-10-32. Branding of a minor prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor or felony.
No person may brand a minor. For the purposes of this section, the term, brand, means to make a permanent mark on a person's skin through the use of heat, cold, or a chemical compound, or to cut, tear, or abrade the skin for the purpose of creating a permanent mark or design. It is not a violation of this section to tattoo a minor in compliance with the provisions of § 26-10-19. It is not a violation of this section to pierce any part of a minor's body for the purpose of jewelry or adornment with consent. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, any second or subsequent violation of this section is a Class 6 felony.
Source: SL 2008, ch 141, § 1.
26-10-33. Juvenile sexting prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
No minor, as defined in subdivision 26-7A-1(21), may intentionally create, produce, distribute, present, transmit, post, exchange, disseminate, or possess, through any computer or digital media, any photograph or digitized image or any visual depiction of a minor in any condition of nudity, as defined in subdivision 22-24A-2(10), or involved in any prohibited sexual act, as defined in subdivision 22-24A-2(17). Any violation of this section constitutes the offense of juvenile sexting, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Source: SL 2012, ch 148, § 1; SL 2024, ch 87, § 14.
26-10-34. Defenses to juvenile sexting.
It is an affirmative defense to the offense of juvenile sexting that the minor has not solicited the visual depiction, that the minor does not subsequently distribute, present, transmit, post, print, disseminate, or exchange the visual depiction, and that the minor deletes or destroys the visual depiction within a reasonable time after receipt. It is an affirmative defense to the offense of juvenile sexting that the visual depiction is of a single minor, created by that minor, who does not subsequently distribute, present, transmit, post, print, disseminate, or exchange the visual depiction.
Source: SL 2012, ch 148, § 2.
26-10-35. Depiction of person charged not a defense to juvenile sexting.
It is not a defense to the offense of juvenile sexting that the visual depiction is of the person charged.
Source: SL 2012, ch 148, § 3.