Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors take child pornography offenses very seriously because those who profit from it exploit and harm children. About half of those prosecuted for possession of child pornography are accused of having images of children under 6 years old being abused. And a quarter allegedly have images involving children two years old or younger.
Therefore, anyone who is charged with possession of child pornography, even on their computer, can face significant repercussions. Technological advancements and reporting by Internet service providers have increased the number of arrests for child pornography-related crimes.
While many people have a very specific idea about what kinds of people view child pornography, research by the National Crimes Against Children Research Center shows that it’s a rather diverse group, at least based on arrests.
That diversity includes income levels, education, age, geographic location and race. However, based on data from arrests in 2009, the vast majority of those criminally accused of child pornography-related crimes were white men and nearly all those charged with viewing child pornography were men. While the majority were single men, approximately 25 percent lived in homes with minors. Women accounted for under 1 percent of arrests.
Most people arrested for possession of child pornography don’t have a history of “criminal sexually dangerous behavior.” According to a United States Sentencing Commission report presented at the end of 2012 to Congress on federal child pornography offenses, about one in three offenders had a history of CSDB. Nearly 95 percent of those crimes, however, involved minors.
Whatever the circumstances, if you are accused of possession of child pornography, it’s essential that you get legal guidance. An experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney can help protect your rights and present your case.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Internet Child Pornography: Who Is at the Keyboard?,” Mary L. Pulido, Ph.D., accessed Sep. 02, 2016
