Federal Child Pornography – 18 U.S.C. § 2252
18 U.S. Code § 2251 – Sexual exploitation of children and 18 U.S. Code § 2252 – Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors are the main Code sections that are being used across the country to prosecute those individuals involved with what they call the exploitation of children.
There's all kinds of different federal Code sections that can be charged when children are involved — whether it's child pornography of the internet, whether it's moving children across state lines or even going internationally to meet with children in other countries for sexually-related purposes.
The bottom line is that the feds prosecute these cases very harshly and very seriously. They will put the full resources of the government on these cases — meaning they will spend thousands of dollars to find those individuals who are involved with the exploitation of children, who are having sex with children, who are moving children for purposes of traveling across state lines, traveling across the country related to child pornography and sexually exploiting children.
Social Media and Child Exploitation
I see all the social media outlets lake Facebook, Instagram — these are all being monitored by the federal government and if they're not monitored by the federal government, the social media locations, such as Facebook for example, will report people who are involved with using their platform to become involved with sexually-related activities with children or other illegal sexually related matters.
So, these cases are prosecuted very harshly and there's a whole slew of different U.S. Code sections that the federal prosecutors will use to prosecute sex-related offenses that involve individuals under the age of 18.
So, if you or one of your loved ones has a case involving the exploitation of children or any type of sexually-related offense related to children, there's a slew of different things that can be done to help them. There are reports that can be obtained.
There are motions that can be filed. A lot of times what we're looking at is to be able to show that you or your loved one is not in the business and is not interested in having any sort of sexual contact with any minor, because that is what the government is obviously trying to guard against.
Those individuals traveling overseas — trying to get together with children in a sexual manner — also will be prosecuted. A lot of people think, why would they do that? Why would they worry about other countries/other governments, because when American citizens or other individuals use the resources in America to exploit children, America, the federal government is going to fight and is going to make sure those people are treated very harshly.
Just like it occurred in our country, they're going to prosecute those people — work with other governments — in order to help prosecute those individuals who are involved with the sexual exploitation of children.
There's a lot of different pacts between governments internationally when it comes to protecting children. So, if you or a loved one has one of these cases, give us a call. We'll sit down and talk and we will get our strategy together in order to properly defend you and put you in the best possible position.
If you are facing a child pornography related charge in the Central District of California federal court system you must act swiftly and decisively in retaining an experienced federal criminal defense attorney. Federal prosecutors and judges are particularly harsh when it comes to these types of offenses. In many cases, an experienced federal attorney can act early on in the proceedings to guard against excessive penalties later on down the line.
California Penal Code Section 311.11 – Child Porn Charges
California Penal Code 311 PC makes the possession of child pornography illegal and may be charged in state court as well as federal court. Although adult pornography is protected by under the 1st Amendment free speech, pornography depicting children is completely illegal.
In these types of cases, the prosecution has the burden of proving that you actually knew that you were in possession of the unlawful images depicting children in a pornographic matter and that the images were not digitally created. With child pornography charges, the number of images does not increase the counts; regardless of the number it will be one criminal violation.
When it comes to punishment in federal sex crime cases, there are many factors that are considered as to whether a particular person will be sent to federal prison. The courts will look at a person's prior criminal record and the facts of the current case in deciding what they believe are the appropriate sanctions.
The most important thing a person facing a serious crime can do is hire an attorney that has defended many federal crimes successfully. They will know what steps to take and make the decisions that are right for a particular client.
As your advocate we will do everything we can to defend you. Your computer may have been hacked or had a virus; either way, we will do everything we can for you. We encourage you to come for a free face to face consultation. We will educate you on how the federal criminal defense system works and begin the process of designing a plan to put you back in a position where you can pursue you life; unfettered by the federal government.
You have the ability to fight back and seize control of your life, but you have to make the call now. Contact our federal criminal defense law firm to review the details of your case.
Related:
What Factors Determine How Child Pornography is Prosecuted?
Seizure of Home Computers in a Child Pornography Investigation