Federal Child Pornography Crimes

Child pornography charges are one of the most serious non-homicide crimes someone can face. If you are convicted of a Virginia child pornography crime, you will face at least a year in jail and maybe much longer. However, most child pornography offenses are federal crimes, brought by experienced federal prosecutors. A conviction for a federal child pornography crime carries a prison term of up to 10 years. And if you send an illegal image through text or email, you will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

At Robinson Law, our dedicated federal criminal defense lawyers have extensive experience defending clients charged with serious child pornography offenses, including possession, creation or distribution of child pornography. We are immediately available to consult with you, regardless of whether you are still under investigation or you’ve been formally indicted.

Unlike many of the other charges that you may face in the federal system, the first notification that you are being investigated for possession of child pornography may be a search warrant executed on any and all electronic devices that you possess or have access to. Sometimes these search warrants can be served a year or more before any charges are ultimately brought.

These charges have complex issues related to metadata on files that may be on your computer without you even knowing it. Peer-to-peer transfers may have transmitted these files to your computer without your knowledge. However, mere possession of these files is insufficient to convict you of a child pornography offense; the government must prove that you knowingly accessed them and were aware of the content.

No, if the person portrayed in an image or video is not actually a minor, you cannot be charged with a child pornography offense, even if they appear to be younger than they are.

Child pornography is defined as images, videos or other media that depict a minor either in the commission of a sex act or in a sexually suggestive pose or situation. Thus, it is unnecessary that the images in question actually be of a minor engaging in a sexual act; sexually suggestive behavior or poses can be sufficient to consider the image or video as child pornography.

Another consideration to be aware of is that a single video is not equivalent to a single image; there is a calculation based on the number of frames within the video to determine the number of images in one’s possession.

If a search warrant was served on you by a federal law enforcement agency related to your electronic devices, or if you have received a target letter related to any sex crime, do not wait until charges have been filed to contact a lawyer. A child pornography defense attorney at Robinson Law can intervene in your case immediately in hopes of convincing the feds not to pursue charges. In the event charges are filed, we are prepared to mount an aggressive defense to these serious charges. To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation, call (703) 844-3746. You can also connect with us through our online form.