Texas grand jury indicts Netflix for promotion of ‘Cuties’ – Martinsville Bulletin

The film, which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, is about an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance group. The films writer and director, Mamouna Doucour, has said Cuties is a critique of the hypersexualization of young girls.

Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin, said in a Tuesday press release that the county opted to indict Netflix for promoting the film there. Texas Rangers served a summons to Netflix last week, he added.

Lucas Babin is the son of U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, who has called the film child pornography.

After hearing about the movie Cuties and watching it, I knew there was probable cause to believe it was criminal, Lucas Babin said in the release. If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isnt the need to prosecute more, not less?

Thomas Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment clinic at Southern Methodist University, called the indictment an unusual test case and said its troubling when there is a criminal charge related to First Amendment activity, particularly expressive activity, like a movie.

In Texas, a company convicted of a felony can be fined up to $20,000, according to the penal code. If the court finds that the company benefited financially from a crime, penalties can increase to twice the amount earned.

Excerpt from:

Texas grand jury indicts Netflix for promotion of 'Cuties' - Martinsville Bulletin