What constitutes the crime of receiving, possessing, or distributing child pornography?

In my 41 years of practice as a criminal defense lawyer, I have been amazed at the increasing number of prosecutions for child pornography. It is a horrific crime. The federal government is all over it, much more than state governments, and they are indicting people all the time, simply for going on the Internet and downloading child pornography. Why people are turned on by that, I don’t know, but so many don’t realize that it’s horrific, it’s horrible. The penalties are extraordinarily severe, because you see, by downloading this stuff, and in some instances, by paying for it, you’re keeping the industry going. The sentencing guidelines are very, very harsh and the judges have virtually no sympathy in most instances for people that consume, that use, that view, that possess, and especially those who purchase and even more significantly, those who distribute or sell child pornography. If you’re accused of child pornography in federal court or even in state court on rare occasions, you must have a lawyer with experience in defending people charged with this very, very serious crime.

By Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A.