Have you or a loved one been unfairly accused of possessing child pornography? First, it’s important to understand that this is a serious crime. You need to know your legal options for defense against child porn charges.
At the Neal Davis Law Firm, we can help—starting with a free legal review of your case when you contact us.
What is a child pornography crime?
Child porn offenses can include violations of Texas child porn laws of violations of federal child porn laws. In fact, you can be prosecuted for child porn charges under state laws and federal laws for the same offense.
Such serious child porn charges can include possession of child pornography, receiving child pornography and distribution or promotion of child pornography.
Keep in mind that viewing pornography on the Internet or elsewhere is not a crime when it depicts consenting adults. But pornography which depicts minors who are younger than age 17 is illegal—highly illegal—and is not constitutionally protected by First Amendment rights of free speech.
How serious are child porn charges?
In fact, Texas law officers and federal authorities are very aggressive in prosecuting persons who face child porn charges—in part because of public outrage toward such crimes.
But that’s not their only motivation.
It’s also true that local and Texas law enforcement agencies can get additional federal funding for sweeping sex sting operations which lead to arrests for such things as possessing child porn and online solicitation of a minor.
In fact, as a reward for such operations, over $200 million in federal grants have been handed out to police departments by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Such incentives have resulted in law enforcement agencies casting an aggressively wide net in their sex stings, which inadvertently snare innocent people.
This law enforcement aggression, followed by prosecutorial aggression, is why it’s vital to engage an experienced child porn defense lawyer who can protect the legal rights of the innocent and succeed in helping get charges reduced or even dismissed before trial.
What defenses exist for child porn offenses?
As for how we can help you defend against child porn charges, that starts with the individual circumstances of your case. We can tell you that defending against a charge of child porn may start by asserting you were falsely accused and disputing the prosecution’s claim that you knowingly possessed, distributed or received child pornography.
For instance, perhaps someone else had access to your computer and downloaded or viewed child porn on it without your knowledge or consent.
We also can determine if you, as the defendant, used an unsecured or shared network which may have allowed others to download child pornography without your knowledge.
Or, we may find means to claim that law enforcement officers illegally conducted a search or an arrest. This may involve illegal “entrapment,” which means law officers induced you to commit a child porn offense which otherwise you would not have done.
Whatever the case, you must engage knowledgeable legal help to counter such charges, or possibly face years in prison, hefty fines and having to register as a sex offender. Indeed, child porn sentences can sometimes be unreasonable.
Contact us today for a free and confidential legal review of your case.