The Internet Is Full Of Traps For The Unwary
Child pornography charges are one of the most actively pursued sex crimes. Washington State, the Seattle Police, and the federal government have units actively involved in the detection and prosecution of child pornography crimes. The penalties for possession, production, or distribution of child pornography are serious and include sex offender registration.
Many people feel hopeless when they are arrested for possession, production, or distribution of child pornography. This is understandable, but there is hope. There are many defenses to a child pornography charge, to many to list here. I have provided some of the most common defenses. If you have been arrested for possession of child pornography, it is important to contact a lawyer immediately.
The police and prosecutors are sometimes overzealous in their investigations, because these are high profile cases. It is entirely possible for that you were arrested for something that has an innocent explanation. Investigators will call innocent family photos or art projects child pornography, even though they do not depict intercourse. Prosecutors may try to rush you to a plea bargain before you have had a chance to evaluate the evidence and prepare a defense.
In fact, there was a case in Massachusetts where a man was arrested for images on his computer that they did not even know were there. If you computer has a Trojan Horse program that took it over and used it as a conduit for spam, it is also possible that it was used as a conduit for illegal internet images. Those images could be traced back to your computer and still on your hard drive without you even knowing it. This is a rare case, but your attorney should be aware of the possibility and be prepared to raise it with the prosecutor.
Another important fact in a child pornography defense is the element of knowledge. You have to know that the person in the picture or movie is underage. This is an important part of any child pornography defense. It is entirely possible for someone to believe that they are looking at an adult, when in fact they are looking at someone under 18. This makes a knowledge defense one of the most powerful defenses available to you.
