Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-911 (2026)
Sale, loan or exhibition of material to minors
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor:
- (1) Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, video game, computer software game, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body, that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sado-masochistic abuse, and that is harmful to minors; or
- (2) Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, however reproduced, or sound recording, which contains any matter enumerated in subdivision (a)(1), or that contains explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sado-masochistic abuse, and that is harmful to minors.
- (b) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly exhibit to a minor for monetary consideration, or to knowingly sell to a minor an admission ticket or pass or otherwise admit a minor to premises whereon there is exhibited a motion picture, show or other presentation which, in whole or in part, depicts nudity, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sado-masochistic abuse, and which is harmful to minors.
- (c) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
- (d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the minor to whom the material or show was made available or exhibited was, at the time, accompanied by the person's parent or legal guardian, or by an adult with the written permission of the parent or legal guardian.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 2000, ch. 763, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2024 · leading case: Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Inc. v. McWherter, 866 S.W.2d 520 (Tenn. 1993).
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Inc. v. McWherter, 866 S.W.2d 520 (Tenn. 1993). “[2] Specifically, the Chancellor enjoined enforcement of those portions of Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-17-911 and 914 which prohibit the sale, loan, exhibition or display for sale or rental of material to minors which contain "excess violence" as that term is defined in Tenn.”
Reno v. Am. Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997). “§ 22-24-30 (1988) (same); Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-911 (b) (1991) (same); Vt.”
Calvert v. State, 342 S.W.3d 477 (Tenn. 2011). “§ 39-17-911 (2006); two counts of rape, id.”
Friends of George's, Inc. v. Steven Mulroy, 108 F.4th 431 (6th Cir. 2024). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-911 (b) (2023) (unamended since 2000).”
State of Tennessee v. Eric Foster (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Exhibition of material harmful to a minor is codified in Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-911, which states in pertinent part: (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor: (1) Any…”
State of Tennessee v. Cauley McCliton Cross (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “This offense is codified under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-911. This section states in pertinent part: (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor: (1) Any picture,…”
State of Tennessee v. Dallas Jay Stewart (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). “T.C.A. § 39-17-911(a)(1) (2010). Pertinent to this appeal, “[r]ape of a child is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is more than three (3) years of age but less than thirteen (13) years of age.”
Michelle Allen & Mark Allen v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2006). “Exhibition of materials harmful to a minor is found at Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-911 which states, “(a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor; (1) Any picture, photograph,…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-911(a)(1) — 3 cases
State of Tennessee v. Dallas Jay Stewart (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). “T.C.A. § 39-17-911(a)(1) (2010). Pertinent to this appeal, “[r]ape of a child is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is more than three (3) years of age but less than thirteen (13) years of age.”
State of Tennessee v. Cauley McCliton Cross (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “This offense is codified under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-911. This section states in pertinent part: (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor: (1) Any picture,…”
State of Tennessee v. Eric Foster (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Exhibition of material harmful to a minor is codified in Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-911, which states in pertinent part: (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell or loan for monetary consideration or otherwise exhibit or make available to a minor: (1) Any…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.