Federal Child Pornography Charges – Receipt of Child Pornography

Child pornography charges are some of the most serious criminal charges a person can face. Penalties are often severe, and social condemnation for these crimes is intense. If you’re facing federal charges for receipt of child pornography, you are being accused of knowingly receiving sexually explicit images of a child under 18 years old. A sentence of five to 20 years in prison is typical for these charges, and a sentence of as much as 40 years is not impossible.

You need to defend yourself against these charges with every tool at your disposal. Richard H. Sindel, Inc., is a St. Louis, Missouri, criminal defense firm. We’ve been fighting for the rights of the accused for more than 85 years and have helped many innocent people win acquittal on their charges or prevail on appeal. If you’ve been charged with receipt of child pornography, don’t delay. Contact Richard H. Sindel, Inc., immediately.

What Constitutes Child Pornography?

People who are convicted on child pornography charges are sometimes surprised to learn that a particular image is considered illegal in the first place. What constitutes child pornography under federal law?

According to the Citizen’s Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Child Pornography, any sexually explicit image of a minor constitutes child pornography. This includes:

• Photographs
• Video
• Digital images
• Computer-generated images that cannot be distinguished from an actual minor
• Undeveloped film or video
• Sexually suggestive images

A computer-generated image that does not show a real human being can still be considered child pornography, and receipt of the image can still be a federal crime. An image of a child that appears suggestive can be child pornography, even if the image does not show the child engaging in any sexual conduct.

Under federal law, it is a crime to produce, receive, distribute, or possess child pornography. Receipt of child pornography means knowingly receiving a sexually explicit image or images showing minors.

Is Child Pornography a Federal Crime?

Child pornography can be either a state or a federal crime. Child pornography is a federal crime when it involves interstate or foreign commerce in any way, including:

• Use of the U.S. Mail
• Use of common carriers such as UPS to send material across state lines
• Use of the Internet to send material across state lines or international borders
• Use of a computer or CD-ROM purchased via interstate commerce

As the Citizen’s Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Child Pornography points out, almost any use of the internet to access child pornography would fall under federal law. Child pornography is often traded in batches of hundreds of images, and some of those images almost certainly crossed state lines. Any computer used to download those images was most likely shipped across state lines or international borders. For this reason, using the internet to access child pornography would almost always expose you to federal criminal charges.

However, that doesn’t mean federal charges are the only charges you would face. Even if a particular offense is a federal crime, the defendant can face state charges for the same conduct.

Statutory Penalties for Child Pornography

The federal sentencing guidelines for possession of child pornography call for different sentences depending on the age of the victims and whether the defendant has a prior conviction for a sexual crime. The sentencing guidelines call for:

• Zero to 10 years in prison or zero to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography with no prior sex crime conviction, depending on whether the victims were under 12 years old
• 10 to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography with a prior sex crime conviction
• Five to 20 years in prison for receipt of child pornography with no prior sex crime conviction
• 15 to 40 years in prison for receipt of child pornography with a prior sex crime conviction

The penalties for a receipt conviction are potentially much more severe than those for a possession conviction, even though the underlying conduct for both charges is “usually indistinguishable,” according to the United States Sentencing Commission.

The offense of possession of child pornography requires that the defendant knowingly possessed child pornography, while the offense of receipt of child pornography requires that the defendant knew the material in question was child pornography when they received it. In practice, it seems extremely unlikely that a person would unknowingly receive child pornography but then voluntarily keep it, so the two offenses are essentially identical even though the penalties are not.

Penalties become more severe when the defendant is also guilty of aggravating conduct. Examples of aggravating conduct include:

• The images are violent or sadomasochistic
• The defendant has prior sex crime offenses

According to the United States Sentencing Commission, 48 percent of defendants were also accused of some form of aggravating conduct.

Defenses Against Child Pornography Charges

The best defense strategy against a child pornography charge depends on the facts of the specific case, but common defenses include:

• You did not know that the material was child pornography when you received it, which could result in a lower charge of possession with less severe penalties
• The images were on a shared computer, and you weren’t the one who downloaded the material
• You visited an illegal website unintentionally due to entering the wrong URL
• The material isn’t child pornography
• Law enforcement engaged in an illegal search and seizure
• Law enforcement used entrapment tactics

People share computers all the time, particularly at work. If someone else downloaded child pornography on a shared computer and you didn’t know about it, then you are not guilty of either receipt or possession.

If you visited a child pornography website unintentionally, then expert testimony can show that you exited the website instantly upon realizing what it was.

If the people portrayed in images found on your computer were 18 or above, then the material doesn’t constitute child pornography.

If law enforcement agencies violated your constitutional rights through illegal search and seizure, any evidence they collected may be thrown out of court.

If a law enforcement agent tricked you into doing something you would never otherwise have done, this may constitute illegal entrapment. For instance, if a federal agent sold you child pornography material under the guise of selling you legal material, then you may be able to get the charges dismissed.

Contact a St Louis Criminal Defense Attorney Today

Federal child pornography charges can devastate your life. You need the help of a criminal defense attorney determined to fight for your rights and mount the most aggressive possible defense. It may seem like there is no hope of acquittal in your case, but people have won acquittals on this charge. Even if you don’t succeed in beating the charges entirely, a strong defense can result in a conviction on a lesser charge, with correspondingly lower penalties.

Richard H. Sindel, Inc. was founded in 1937 by William Sindel and Tebbs Forgey Jr. to provide people accused of a crime with the best defense possible. Partners Richard H. Sindel and Jordan Wellinghoff continue that tradition, standing up for the rights of the accused and defending innocent people from the power of the federal government. If you’ve been accused of a serious crime like receipt of child pornography, don’t leave your future up to chance. Contact the attorneys of Richard H. Sindel, Inc., immediately.