Netflix has been indicted in the conservative southern US state of Texas for screening the French film Cuties.
The furore has arisen over what has been described as the ‘hyper sexualising of young girls’ and the depiction of children in a crude manner.
Statements by Republican lawmakers and an online campaign against the film have fuelled concern over the uncomfortable topic of child sexual molestation.
The streaming service became the subject of a grand jury hearing in Tyler County, east of Houston, mid-September, and according to Firstpost, a local elected official stated Tuesday that the same jury had issued an indictment.
Cuties is directed by French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure and was released online in early September – it follows the story of a rebellious 11-year-old Parisian girl called Amy who joins a provocative dance group started by three other girls from her neighbourhood.
The Texas grand jury indicted Netflix under a law that forbids “the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of an unclothed, partially clothed or clothed child."
Although a guilty verdict in Texas could lead to a prison term, it is of general opinion amongst the media that a fine and being forced to pull the film will be a more likely outcome.
The jury decided the film had "no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."
Netflix has defended the movie saying that it is a "social commentary against the sexualisation of young girls."
Cuties earned Doucoure a best director nod at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
