California's obscenity laws shield children from exploitation in pornographic materials. California law makes it illegal and punishes the production, distribution, possession, and selling of pornographic materials that depict or involve minor children who are below the age of 18 years. The law does not specifically make it a crime to view child pornography. However, the law makes it illegal to possess or to control pornographic materials that have content with children. If you download and save child pornography in your computer, this may qualify as possessing and controlling child pornographic materials. You may also face charges under California law if you share, email, or distribute copies of child pornography materials. Child pornography crime is a serious offense with detrimental consequences. If you are facing child pornography charges in California, California Criminal Lawyer Group can help you come up with a defense strategy.
Overview of Child Pornography Under California Law
The California Penal Code 311 outlines child pornography laws in California. The law prohibits knowingly or intentionally possessing, producing, publicizing, duplicating, printing, and selling child pornography in any form. There are various subsections of section 311 PC of California law. The different subsections outline the specific child pornography crimes like distributing, downloading, or producing child pornography. For you to face child pornography charges, the prosecutor has to prove several elements of the crime. The prosecutor has to prove that you knowingly and intentionally possessed images showing minors engaging in sexual acts. The prosecutor must also prove that you were aware that the images or the content showed a minor below the age of 18 years simulating or participating in sexual activities or conduct.
You may not face child pornography charges if you view the pornographic content online without downloading it. However, if you download the content and you store it on your computer, for instance, you may be guilty of possessing and controlling the pornographic content. If the law enforcement officers suspect that you have violated California Penal Code 311 PC, they may obtain a search warrant and search or seize your computers. If you are facing an investigation for child pornography or if you have received a conviction for the offense, you should seek the representation of an experienced attorney to help you fight the charges.
Child Pornography Over the Internet
The law enforcement authorities may conduct a sting operation aimed at catching individuals trying to obtain child pornographic materials online. Many people face child pornography charges through this operation. The internet is the primary or the central place where individuals often search and purchase child pornographic materials. Therefore, the internet has become the primary place where law enforcement officers conduct sting operations to catch child pornography offenders. The aim of conducting an online sting operation is to prevent the distribution of child pornographic materials and to arrest people trying to distribute child pornographic materials.
How Do Law Enforcement Officers Conduct Sting Operations?
There are many ways of conducting online sting operations to enable law enforcement officers to arrest offenders. For instance, law enforcement officers may pose as buyers of child pornography to help catch distributors of the content. The law enforcement officers may also use decoy child pornography sites to help catch individuals to attempt to purchase child pornography online. The police may also pose as minors in online chat rooms to help arrest persons trying to lure minors into participating in child pornography.
You may wonder whether sting operations aimed at unearthing people participating in child pornography are legal according to California law. You may wonder if it is lawful to pose as someone else or if this behavior may qualify as entrapment. It is important to note that in California, sting operations are legal. However, you should also note that entrapment is illegal in California. The law enforcement officers may face entrapment charges if they persuade you to commit a crime that you would not have committed on your own, without the inducement or persuasion. Entrapment is a violation of a person's rights. If you feel that your arrest for child pornography was through entrapment, you may fight the charges in court based on a violation of your rights.
Penalties for Child Pornography Charges in California
There are several punishments for child pornography in California. The penalties you face for your crime will depend on the specific child pornography offense you commit. This is following California law Penal Code 311-311.11. If you have a prior conviction for child pornography in California, you may face enhanced penalties than a first-time offender:
Possessing Child Pornography
For possession of child pornography under Penal Code 311.11, you will face felony charges. The penalties you face for the felony offense of possessing child pornography will depend on the facts surrounding your case. In some instances, the court may require you to serve jail time of one year in a county jail or state prison. You may also have to pay a fine that does not exceed $1,000. For a more severe offense of possessing child pornography, the court may recommend imprisonment of up to three years in a California state prison. You may also have to pay a fine of $2,500 on top of the imprisonment. If you have a prior conviction for possessing child pornography, you may face enhanced charges. Repeat offenders may face imprisonment lasting two, four, or six years for possession of child pornography crimes.
Distributing Child Pornography
The California Penal Code 311.1 (a) outlines the crime of distributing child pornography. Under California law, the distribution of child pornography is a felony offense. For a conviction of this crime, the court may subject you to jail time of up to one year in a California county jail. The court may also require you to pay a fine that does not exceed $1,000. Depending on the circumstances and facts surrounding your case, the court may impose imprisonment of up to three years in a California state prison and require you to pay a fine of $10,000 for distribution of child pornography.
Sending or Producing Child Pornography
You may face charges under the California Penal Code 311.2(a) if you intentionally send, bring, possess, or produce pornographic materials involving children below the age of 18 years. The crime of possessing or producing child pornography to distribute it to other people is a misdemeanor offense. The penalties for this crime may include imprisonment of up to 364 days in a California county jail. The court may also require you to pay hefty fines of up to $50,000 for this offense.
Child Pornography Advertisement
You will face felony charges under California law if you advertise the distribution or the sale of child pornography. The California Penal Code 311.10 outlines the crime of advertising child pornography. The penalties for an offense under Penal Code 311.10 include jail time of up to one year in county jail. You may also face imprisonment of two, three, or four years in state prison depending on the nature of the offense.
The California state laws are very stringent on people who are involved in the child pornography industry with the intent of financial gain. If you are guilty of transporting, distributing, or advertising child pornography for financial gain, you may face imprisonment in a California state prison. The imprisonment period will depend on the seriousness of the offense and may vary from two, three, or six years. If you deal with child pornography for personal gain, the court may also require you to pay a fine ranging between $50,000 and $100,000. You may also face charges for coercing or hiring a minor to participate in child pornography. If you coerce of hiring a minor to indulge in pornographic activities, you will face felony charges under California law. You may face imprisonment of three, six, or eight years in a California state prison.
Do You Have to Register as a Sex Offender?
The sentences for child pornography offenses are detrimental. Your sentencing will depend on the particular details of your case. Other than facing imprisonment and hefty fines, you also have to register as a sex offender for the remaining part of your life after a child pornography conviction. You will have to register as a sex offender as outlined under the California Penal Code 290 PC. The penalty for registering as a sex offender is more severe than imprisonment and fines.
What are the implications of registering as a sex offender for the rest of your life? If you are registered as a sex offender, you have to stay away from any place where children frequent. For instance, you would have to stay away from parks where children play and schools. This could greatly influence your freedom of movement and interaction.
You will have to register with the local law enforcement as a sex offender each year. If you fail to register as a sex offender every year, you may face distinct additional charges under Penal Code 290. Failing to register as a sex offender is a crime outlined under Penal Code 290.018 (b). The punishment for the offense includes imprisonment of up to three years.
Do the Police Have a Right to Search Your Computer?
According to California law, the police are supposed to obtain a legal search warrant before accessing or searching any of your electronic machinery. Therefore, the police should not search your computer or other electronics like tablets and phones without a valid warrant. However, in some instances, the police may search your electronics without a warrant.
What should you do if the police request your consent to search your electronic devices? If the police do not have a valid search warrant, you should politely decline any requests for your consent to search your electronics. However, if the police conduct an illegal search and seizure, you should contact an attorney immediately. Even if the police access evidence of possession or distribution of child pornographic materials on your computer, you may fight the charges in court. You may base your defense on the fact that you are a victim of an illegal search and seizure.
Can You Face Charges for Pornographic Materials on a Shared Computer?
You may be sharing a computer with your roommates only for the police to conduct a search of the computer and discover child pornographic materials. Can you deny charges and assert that the computer is not yours but shared? You should disclose this fact to your criminal defense attorney. The fact that the computer is shared may be a good basis for legal defense. If you do not use the computer alone but share it with others, it may be hard for the prosecutor to prove that you were aware of the existence of child pornographic materials.
If you had purchased a used computer or other electronic devices that possess child pornographic materials, you might also defend yourself by outlining that you were not aware of the existence of the pornographic materials. For you to ensure that you avoid falling victim to the crime of possessing child pornography, it is advisable to clean the hard drive of any second-hand device that you purchase. In addition, if you happen to borrow another person's computer, you should ensure that you clear cookies.
Movies with Explicit Scenes Involving Minors
Can you face charges for violating child pornography laws if you watch a movie with explicit scenes involving minors? For instance, if you are watching a movie that has explicit scenes that involve minors indulging in pornographic activities, can you face charges? Your attorney may have a legal ground of defense if you were watching a movie, and the police accuse you of child pornography. One of the legal defenses for child pornography entails asserting that the material you viewed was artistic in nature. Therefore, you may outline that a movie is artistic in nature and is not the same as child pornography.
Photoshopped Images
In 2002, the Supreme Court made a ruling, which set a precedent that you cannot face charges or conviction for child pornography if the pornographic images were not real. If the images did not actually portray minors in sexual acts or explicit poses, you might not face charges. The images may only have been edited to appear real, yet in the real sense, they were fake. For instance, it is common to have images of showing the face of a minor celebrity below 18 years edited to appear on the nude body of another person. In most cases, the nude body may belong to a person who is above the age of 18 years. If the police arrest you in this case, you may base your defense on the fact that the nude body did not belong to a minor but an adult.
Can Minors Face Charges for Child Pornography
It is common for minors below the age of 18 years to engage in sexting. This may include taking nude photos of themselves and sending the photos to other minors. Under California law, minors may also face charges for indulging in child pornography activities. With technological advancement, it has become easy to take explicit and nude images and send them to another person. The practice is particularly common among high school children. The children do not have an understanding of the implications of their actions. The minors who engage in sexting may not even be aware that the activity is illegal under California law and that the associated consequences are severe. You may face charges for child pornography irrespective of your age. You may even face charges for taking nude photos and sending them to your lover or partner as long as you are below 18 years of age.
Accidentally Clicking on Pop-Ups
You may be browsing on your computer when suddenly a pop-up appears, and you click on it. The pop-up leads you to a child pornographic website, and now the law enforcement officers are after you. Usually, many pop-ups on websites come from third-party companies, but some may be sting operations advertisements. If you watch content on the pornographic site, the ads may track your IP address, and you will have the police knocking at your door. It is wise to avoid pop-ups that you do not understand to avoid falling victim to facing child pornography charges, yet you are innocent.
Fighting Child Pornography Charges
If you are under investigation or facing charges for child pornography, it is advisable to contact an attorney immediately. The crime of child pornography has detrimental consequences, and this makes it essential to seek proper legal representation whenever you are facing charges. After discussing the details of your case with the attorney, the attorney can decide on the best legal defenses for your case. Some of the most common legal defenses for child pornography cases include:
Lack of Knowledge
You may assert that you were not aware of the involvement of a minor in the pornographic materials. For you to face child pornography charges, it must be evident that you were aware that the pornographic content portrayed a person below the age of 18 years. If you did not know that the person depicted in the pornographic materials was a minor, you may defend yourself by outlining this fact. Your attorney can put up a valid legal defense on your behalf and outline that you thought the person portrayed in the pornographic material was above the age of 18 years.
Violation of Your Rights
If you feel that the police violated your rights, you can fight child pornography charges on this ground. For instance, you may be a victim of entrapment where the police persuaded you or led you on to commit the crime of child pornography. Entrapment may happen if the police go too far during the online sting operation. You may assert that the police induced you to commit the child pornography crime. You may further assert that if the police had not influenced or induced you, you would not have committed the crime of child pornography on your own. Your attorney can examine your situation and determine if you are a victim of entrapment. If this is the case, the attorney can defend you in court.
You Did Not Know the Material was Obscene
If the police arrest you for possession of child pornographic materials, for instance, you may assert that you were not aware that the materials you possessed were obscene. One element of the crime of child pornography is that you must have known that the content you were viewing or possessing was obscene in nature. You may have a valid legal defense against child pornography charges if you assert that you were not aware of the obscene nature of the materials.
You did not possess
You can only face charges for possessing child pornography if you had legal possession of pornographic materials. If you did not have legal possession of the materials, you can fight the charges in court and assert that you had not possessed the pornography.
Scientific or Educational Purpose
While facing charges for producing child pornography, you may assert that you produced the materials for scientific or for educational purposes. You may point out that your intention was not to distribute the materials for obscene motives but research, scientific, or educational purposes. Your attorney may have a legitimate legal defense if he/she can prove that you were using the child pornographic materials for educational or scientific purposes.
You may also defend yourself by outlining that at the time of production of the child pornographic materials, the minor involved was legally emancipated.
You do not have to allow current or pending child pornography convictions to ruin your life. With the help of an experienced attorney, you can identify the unique facts of your case. You can then use the facts to come up with a good defense that will help you walk free.
Contact a California Criminal Lawyer Near Me
California law has in place stringent penalties for any person who engages in child pornography. You may serve years in prison and pay hefty fines. The worst part is that you would have to register as a sex offender for life. The best way to fight child pornography charges is by hiring an attorney. The California Criminal Lawyer Group can help you come up with a good legal defense. Contact us at 408-622-0204 and speak to one of our experienced attorneys.
