Child Porn Possession Consequences in Florida Can Change your Life, says South Florida Criminal Defense Attorney
When it comes to Child Pornography possession charges, Florida has some serious penalties that you need to be aware of. While many people seem to think that child pornography is a victimless crime, national research – and Florida state laws – say differently.
Possession of Child Pornography is a sex crime defined as knowingly possessing, regulating, or viewing child pornography. Child pornography in Florida includes photos, videos, shows, data files and any presentation that includes any sexual conduct by a child
It’s just a picture or a video right? How does looking at Child Pornography in Florida harm someone?
Some legal experts say that images of child sexual abuse (depicted in child pornography), continues to victimize people through their whole life-span. In the digital age we live in, the images and videos of child sexual abuse live forever online – long after the physical assault ends – and the trauma inflicted can follow the children well into adulthood.
“We need to help these young people recover, but many people mistakenly think viewing child pornography is a victimless crime and so only focus on supporting the victim after the initial sex abuse,” said law professor Warren Binford. “However, many victims say that having the digital images of them being raped, traded on the Internet is far worse than the hands-on sex abuse because the images are everywhere and the victims have no control. It will never end for them.”
If you’ve been charged with a child pornography crime in Florida, that is the kind of perspective that the Florida State Prosecutors will have as they investigate and press charges against you. To prosecutors, child pornography is not a victimless crime and that is part of why Florida has such harsh consequences for child porn possession charges.
Facing Child Porn Possession Allegations is stressful, but here at Rossen Law Firm we provide a five-star-rated, judgement-free criminal defense to your charges. We will listen to your whole story and promise to do everything in our power to fight for your future, rights, and the best possible outcome on your case.
CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES IN FLORIDA
A “typical” Possession of Child Pornography charge is a third-degree felony in Florida. This means that if you’ve been charged with child pornography, you’re looking as up to 5 years in prison, and/or 5 years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.
There are circumstances though, depending on the type and quantity of child porn you’re alleged of possessing, that could lead to you being charged with a first-degree felony for possessing child porn in Florida which could mean up to 30 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines if you’re convicted.
Frankly, here is the really scary thing if you’ve been charged with Child Porn Possession in Florida: The crime can be more severe depending on the number of child porn images or videos you have, and the content depicted in the images or videos can also mean more severe criminal charges.
Basically – a child pornography charge is not JUST a child pornography charge in Florida. You could be hit with a number of child porn possession charges if you have multiple images, for example.
For example, if you are facing 2 child porn possession crimes at the third-degree felony level, a judge can always choose to sentence you to up to 5 years in prison for EACH of those charges, meaning you could easily be looking at a maximum sentence of 10 years in Florida state prison. This is typically known as having your sentences run consecutively, as opposed to concurrently which would mean you can serve both of your 5-year sentences at the same time (for a total of 5 years in prison). This type of decision on how you’ll serve your sentence, however, is up to the judge.
Here are other circumstances in child pornography possession cases in Florida that can elevate your charges to a higher degree, and therefore more stringent and serious sentencing potential in court. These circumstances, for example, could turn a second-degree felony into a first-degree felony:
- If the images with children contain any of these elements: A child under 5 years old, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual battery, sexual bestiality, any movie (no matter the length). Definitions of these terms can be found on Florida’s state statute site.
Another very important criminal consequence of Possession of Child Pornography crimes in Florida, is the potential implication of Sexual Cyberharassment or Revenge Porn. Sexual Cyberharassment, commonly also known as revenge porn, is the distribution of consensually obtained sexually explicit images of another person without the depicted person’s permission.
If you, for example, are 19 years old, but are dating someone who is 17 years old and they consensually send you photos – you’re now at risk for facing a child pornography possession criminal charge in Florida. Even if you’re not in a dating relationship; but somehow otherwise believe that you are obtaining explicit photos consensually from a minor, you could be in serious trouble in the eyes of Florida child sex crime laws.
If you’re in possession of pornographic images of a child (someone under 18 years old) in Florida, you could be charged with a child pornography charge even if you believed that the person was 18 years old or older.
If you then SHARE that pornographic image of a minor – even if you obtained it consensually, and even if you believe the person was 18 years old or older, you could be charged with a Sexual Cyberharassment crime in addition to a child pornography possession charge.
The more child sex crimes alleged against you, the more serious your prison exposure time could be in Florida.
It is also important to know that if you come across child pornography – whether online, or if it’s sent to you unsolicitedly in an email or a text, you should report the child porn to your local law enforcement in Florida immediately. There is immunity for people who report child porn in Florida, so it’s important to make sure you report it, rather than hide it, to avoid the potential of getting charged with child porn possession in the future.
DEFENSES TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Thankfully, there are a number of defenses that a skilled South Florida criminal defense attorney can employ to defend your rights and your future if you’ve been accused of possessing child pornography.
Rossen Law Firm has extensive experience providing a compassionate and professional defense to alleged sex crimes such as child pornography in Florida. Facing a child porn allegation in Florida is difficult enough, but the last thing you need is someone judging you for it. We guarantee a judgment-free zone where your respect and dignity are our top priority.
Contact our office if you’re facing possession of child pornography charges in Florida. We’ll listen to your story, discuss the best course of action for you, and see what resources may help you. One mistake shouldn’t have the power to destroy your life – and we’ll fight to make sure it doesn’t.
Here are a few Possession of Child Pornography Defenses that can be used in Florida:
-
Adult Depiction: It is a defense to the crime of Possession of Child Pornography that the images in question are entirely of persons over the age of 18 years of age, even if one or more of the persons depicted appear to be minors.
-
Child Erotica: Child pornography can be distinguished from child erotica which is not “sufficiently lascivious to meet the legal definition of sexually explicit conduct.” It is a defense to the crime of Possession of Child Pornography if the images of the minors depict erotica, as opposed to pornography.
-
Transitory Possession: Sometimes, people are unwittingly sent an image of child pornography, but immediately delete the image once they realize the illegal nature of the image. However, a thumbnail image may still exist on the person’s device or the image may still be in a memory cache even though the main image was deleted. In this scenario, the image was unintentionally viewed and any remaining thumbnail or memory cache image was not knowingly stored. The transitory possession of an image under these circumstances would be a defense to Possession of Child Pornography.
FREE CONSULTATIONS FOR PEOPLE FACING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY POSSESSION CHARGES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Rossen Law Firm is proud to offer FREE strategy sessions to anyone in South Florida facing child pornography possession allegations. Our strategy sessions go above and beyond “free consultations” – we take the time to sit down with you and hear your full story. We don’t put a time limit on the meeting.
After we hear your side of the story and know more circumstances of your particular child pornography possession criminal allegation, we discuss the unique-to-you criminal defense strategy that we would use to defend you from your criminal allegations.
After a FREE strategy session, you’ll know exactly how we would work to fight to win your child pornography possession case.
Give us a call today at one of our three offices:
- Fort Lauderdale: (754) 206-6200
- Sunrise: (754) 999-2499
- Boca Raton: (561) 880-8181
HOW WE WIN CHILD PORN & SEX CRIME CASES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
- Rossen Law Firm helps South Florida Man avoid mandatory 5 years in Prison for Federal Child Porn Charges.
- False Rape accusation cleared in South Florida before the false charges were officially filed against the defendant.
- Learn how Rossen Law Firm got a falsely accused Rape charge dropped in South Florida
