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INTERNET
CRIMES:
In these modern times, special expertise and knowledge is
required to handle cases involving improper use of the
internet (i.e. The collection and distribution of child
pornography, credit card fraud, etc.). Not all law firms
have this kind of technical expertise; the Goldson Law
Firm does.
Federal
Child Pornography Charges are becoming more and more
commonplace with the proliferation of electronic
communication and with the assignment of additional US
Attorneys and FBI agents to prosecute the crimes. The
punishments assigned to these crimes are especially severe
and are as follows.
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18 USC § 2251
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Production
of child pornography (mandatory min. 15 yrs; max
30 years)
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18 USC § 2251A
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Selling
or buying children for sexual exploitation
(mandatory min. 30 yrs; max life)
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18 USC § 2252
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Possession,
distribution and receipt of child pornography
(mandatory min 5 yrs for distribution or receipt;
max 20 years)
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18 USC § 2252A
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Possession,
distribution and receipt of child pornography
(mandatory min 5 yrs for distribution or receipt;
max 20 years)
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18 USC § 2260
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Importation
of child pornography (max 10 years)
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The
punishment for each crime can be enhanced from the minimum
sentence for the number of pictures possessed by the
defendant and other conduct. An attorney can assist
a defendant by working through the sentencing guidelines
to reduce the potential punishment and assessing the
possibilities of getting the federal indictment dismissed
for a variety of reasons.
Negotiations
in a federal case must take place before a Defendant is
indicted. Once a defendant is indicted it is
difficult to deal with changing any charges in the federal
system. Federal Jurisdiction is very broad and
has been upheld in child pornography production cases when
an out of state camera is used. This is true even
when the production and possession is only intrastate.
Since almost all cameras and video equipment is
manufactured outside of the United States, Federal
Jurisdiction exist in almost every child pornography
production case. In most possession cases the
Defendant has receive the pornography through electronic
communication, and the since such communication invariably
crosses state lines through servers and satellites federal
jurisdiction exist in almost every possession case.
With
the extra attention and focus of the government on child
pornography crimes, the role of an attorney as become
vital at the very start of a federal case. If the
legal issues and sentencing guidelines are not addressed
upfront, it will be do late for the defendant to seek
leniency or avoid the harsh consequences of the punishment
of child pornography crimes.
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