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DC Federal Child Pornography Lawyer

If you live in DC and are facing serious federal charges for possession, distribution, or production of illicit images of children, it is important to work with an aggressive legal advocate. If a DC federal child pornography lawyer works with you from the beginning, they can help you understand your legal options and defense strategies, which can have a major impact on the outcome of your case. Schedule a consultation with a federal attorney in DC today to start preparing your defense.

While an attorney can never guarantee an outcome on a particular case, a DC federal child pornography attorney can help you understand your charges and determine the best way to build a strong defense. Your federal criminal defense lawyer is able to represent your interests during a plea bargain or negotiation with federal prosecutors.

Child Pornography Cases

The US Attorney or Assistant US Attorney that prosecutes someone’s case must secure an indictment or true bill to charge them with a federal child pornography offense. If this occurs and someone in DC is charged, a federal child pornography lawyer can help them during most stages of the case. Someone’s lawyer can argue for their release at a bond hearing, so that they are not required to remain in jail pending trial and then argue to protect their freedom at trial.

If their case proceeds to trial, the prosecutor has the burden of showing that they violated federal laws related to child pornography beyond a reasonable doubt. This is known as the burden of proof. However, if their lawyer introduces doubt regarding their guilt, it is possible to avoid a child pornography conviction.

Charges and Penalties

Child pornography is defined as:

  • Any photograph, video, film, computer-generated image, picture, or other visual depiction
  • Made or produced by mechanical or electronic means, including modification or creation of visual images
  • That demonstrates sexually explicit conduct involving a minor

This definition also includes images or other media that have been altered to make an identifiable minor appear engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In other words, it is illegal to find a photo of a child on the internet and modify the photo to make it appear like the child is involved in a sexual act.

Any involvement with any type of child pornography is illegal, including:

  • Advertising child pornography
  • Producing child pornography
  • Transporting child pornography, including mailing or otherwise shipping it
  • Distributing child pornography
  • Receiving child pornography
  • Importing child pornography
  • Possessing child pornography
  • Soliciting or requesting child pornography be sent

Possessing, receiving, distributing or producing obscene visual representations of child sex abuse is also illegal and is prosecuted as a child pornography offense.

Penalties for federal child pornography crimes vary depending on the nature of the offense. Someone can be sentenced to between 15 and 30 years of incarceration for coercing minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography. Most offenses for transporting or shipping child pornography will result in five to 20 years in jail. Repeat offenses can increase the length of a prison sentence.

Potential Defenses

In some cases, a person can argue that possession of obscene material was unintentional because it was put on their computer by someone else or was installed as part of malware or a computer virus. In other situations, they may be able to prevent the evidence of child pornography from being used against them in trial by demonstrating that police violated their Fourth Amendment rights when conducting the search.

In any situation, it is important to work with a DC federal child pornography attorney who is familiar with the technology and terminology in question during these sorts of cases. It is also important to consider what sort of investigative resources their lawyer has access to, since conducting a thorough investigation is essential to building a solid defense.

Contacting a DC Federal Child Pornography Lawyer

If you are accused of any crime concerning child pornography, contact a DC federal child pornography lawyer for help as quickly as possible. Our dedicated criminal defense team can use our experience and investigative resources to work with you throughout your case.

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