FACING CHARGES RELATED TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN SAN FRANCISCO?
It is illegal to produce, possess, distribute, trade, or sell pornographic materials that feature, exploit, or portray a minor.Child pornography is considered any visual image that depicts a child or minor simulating or actually engaging in the sexually explicit activity. More broadly, it is any visual image that depicts a naked child in a sexually suggestive way or that exposes a child’s genitals.
Examples of pornographic visual image types include:
- Photograph
- Video
- Digital Image File
- Electronic Data
- Drawing
- Magazine
Every day, alleged offenders across the nation are arrested for a litany of crimes related to the depiction of children in sexual situations. While these crimes are certainly detestable, it is every American’s right to receive a fair trial, because not everyone who is accused is necessarily guilty. A seasoned attorney will have the experience in child pornography defense to help accused clients face their charges with the courage and confidence needed to find success in court.
Former Prosecutors Now Defending You
Convictions associated with child pornography can destroy an individual’s reputation, relationships, career—and, indeed, a person’s entire future. Laws and penalties under California Penal Code § 311 have broadened in the last decade to curtail and punish the use of computer technology and the Internet for the proliferation of child pornography. As a consequence, law enforcement agencies set up “sting” operations to catch allegedly guilty individuals.
Internet pornography sting operations can lead to entrapment, which often plays a part in the arrest and conviction. As a result, an entrapment defense can often be used to fight these types of charges. Even when entrapment by law enforcement has not occurred, individuals can unknowingly download pornographic material due to spam, pop-ups, and Internet viruses. Charges of pornography possession may still be filed regardless of whether or not the downloading was intentional. Entrapment, mistake, and of course, innocence are only a few of the defenses that make any charge related to child pornography worth fighting.
Penalty Enhancements in Child Pornography Cases
- Penetration Enhancement: If The Porn You Possessed Involved Images Of Children Being Sexually Penetrated, You Can Face Enhanced Charges. Enhancements Can Translate Into Worse Penalties Such As Extended Jail Time, Fines, And Sex Offender Registration.
- Prepubescent Enhancement: If The Material That You Were In Possession Of Includes Depictions Of Children That Appear To Be Prepubescent In Age (Meaning They Haven’t Gone Through Puberty), This Can Enhance Your Charge With Worse Penalties. Images That Depict Prepubescent Children Are Considered To Be Worse And Can Create Penalty Enhancements.
- Quantity Enhancement: Quantity Enhancement Means You Had In Your Possession A Larger Than Normal Quantity Of Pornographic Images Depicting Children In Sexually Lewd Or Explicit Acts. Having Such A Large Quantity Of Illegal Pornographic Material May Suggest To Law Enforcement That You Had Intentions To Sell Or Distribute The Material.
About Peer-to-Peer Sharing (P2P)
Peer-to-peer sharing is a method of sharing files with other computers over the Internet. When two computers connect to a peer-to-peer website, they can directly share files with one another. In the past, peer-to-peer websites were associated with the illegal downloading of music. More recently, peer-to-peer websites have been cited in child pornography distribution cases.
Defending Your Rights & Reputation
Child pornography is an area of criminal law where an attorney is absolutely essential if the offender is going to have any chance at freedom or even minimized charges. Our firm has represented many clients in such cases throughout the years. Through our hard work, we have been able to deliver dependable defense strategies backed by investigative research and other information available at the time. Our top concern is seeing the fair treatment of you through your trial, which includes affording our clients the respect of a thoroughly considered and competent defense executed by a skilled attorney. What’s more, we have found consistent success representing the accused in a wide area of criminal cases including child pornography.
Contact a San Francisco child pornography lawyer at our firm for aggressive help.