Child Pornography - FAQs

Florida Child Pornography Defense Lawyer Answers FAQs

While most understand the concept of “possession” when it comes to things like drugs or firearms, when it comes to child pornography there is more confusion as to what constitutes possession to the extent that you can be charged with it.  To that end, here are some frequently asked questions in this area that may be helpful:

• May I be found guilty if I accidentally receive child pornography?

Since the crime of possessing child pornography has to be knowing, or the viewing has to be intentional, if you find an image or movie on your computer and don’t know what it contains, then open it to see what it contains and you find it contains child porn, that is not necessarily “knowing” possession, and you did not view it with the intention to view child porn, just with the intention to see what it is. One of the things law enforcement will look at is how often the item is viewed by someone using your computer, and also what the title of the picture/movie is, since these can indicate a person’s knowledge (if the title is a graphic description of the item which was then opened) or intent (if it is opened and viewed multiple times rather than once).

• Can You Get In Trouble Just For Viewing A Website? Is Viewing Child Pornography Illegal?

Though just viewing a website that contains illegal child pornography content on it may be tougher to prove, it is still illegal to knowingly view it. Most common in this area of prosecution is to be found in possession of it, though it must be proved that the person is in knowing possession. That being said, if an individual can be proven to have knowingly viewed illicit material on a computer, even if the computer doesn’t belong to them, that would be considered a crime. As said in other areas on this website dealing with child pornography possession, if a person is proved to have intentionally and knowingly looked at child pornography they can be prosecuted.

• Can Law Enforcement See What You Searched On The Internet? Can Police Use My Search History To Prosecute Me?

When Law Enforcement are investigating someone for possessing or sending illicit child pornography materials, they usually will seize the devices (computers, cellphones, tablets, storage units like thumb drives and CDs) of the person they suspect (and the investigation usually begins because they have traced an illegal image or video being sent from or to a particular IP address – or the address that is distinctive to a particular person’s computer/device). They do a forensic search of the device’s hard drive where they will make a copy of it, then run programs that will search out any images/videos from a huge database they have which contains known child pornography. They will be able to see how often the image/video was “accessed” or opened by someone using the computer.  If the person who is the suspect has already admitted to possessing/viewing the illicit material then the number of times it was accessed is not as important, but if the person they suspect claims that they didn’t know about an illegal image/video found on their computer (or one they have been linked to) the fact the image has been opened and viewed multiple times may help law enforcement/prosecutors make their cases.

Likewise, if the search history shows inquiries for very items/language very particular to child pornography, that can be additional circumstantial evidence of guilt.

Attorney David Hill works with expert computer forensic specialists in these types of cases, who will go through the seized hard drive to see if what law enforcement is claiming is supported.

Contact Our Experienced Orlando Child Pornography Defense Lawyer

Child pornography are difficult cases, and it is important that anyone accused of this type of activity not speak to the police without having the assistance of an experience criminal defense attorney like David Hill. Call us today at 407-648-0006, fill out our online form located at the top pf the page or email us and we will get back to you shortly. Your privacy is very important to us and we will keep your information confidential.