One of the more serious sex crimes that you can be charged with in Idaho is child pornography. Not only does it carry severe penalties, but if convicted, the defendant must register as a sex offender for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, this sort of crime involves the most precious victims of all. Children have no way to protect themselves. And, most of the time, they are either unable or unwilling to report the behavior.
We live in a country that is responsible for the greatest production of child pornography in the world. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are more than 25 million images reviewed for child pornography every year. This comes out to be close to 500,000 images a week. This includes all sorts of pornography, from pictures to real-time video feeds. Because the problem is so hard to police, it is getting harder and harder to stop the perpetrators of child pornography.
Here, we’ll highlight some of the important statistics regarding child pornography. We’ll also discuss what constitutes the crime so that you know what to look out for. And, if you’re someone who’s been accused of possession, production, distribution or dissemination of child pornography, you need to call our office right away. This is not the sort of accusation you want to take lightly. It’s in your best interest to hire an experienced sex crime defense lawyer in Boise, Idaho immediately.
The Internet Has Made Child Pornography Worse than Ever Before
Child pornography has been a problem for decades – even centuries. With the advent of the internet, however, child pornography has taken on an entirely new face. Law enforcement used to have to deal with people who took pictures of naked children or shot videos of kids in different sexual activities. Today, there is no limit to the ways in which criminals will create and trade child pornography.
In the U.S., child pornography is defined as content that involves a child engaged in any sort of sexually explicit activities. This could include anything, including the following:
- Pictures and images
- Digitally created pictures, images, videos or other content
- Live-streaming events involving children engaged in sexually explicit acts
- Real-time feeds of child sex abuse
As technology creates new pathways for child sex predators to use, it becomes harder for the government to police this activity. That is why the number of child porn victims continues to increase.
How Many Cases of Child Pornography Do We See in the U.S. Every Year?
Child pornography involves sexually explicit content of children and young people that are younger than 18. It involves both boys and girls, but more than 80% of all child pornography involves girls. Almost 79% of all child porn victims are under the age of 12 and, sadly, 63% of these victims are under the age of 8.
Between 2000 and 2009, the number of children exploited by child pornography more than tripled. And the number of arrests have also tripled. This is in part due to two new computer software programs that help identify sexually explicit content online. These programs are Fairplay and Roundup. Another program, called “Operation Broken Heart”, has investigated more than 69,000 possible child pornography cases in the U.S. alone.
Contact an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer in Boise Right Away if You’re Charged with a Child Sex Crime
Nobody ever wants to be charged with any sort of crime. But the one crime you don’t want to be accused of is child pornography. This could include a litany of offenses in Boise, Idaho. These crimes not only carry heavy penalties, but they will impact the rest of your life. If you’re convicted or plead guilty to any sort of sex crime involving children, your life will never be the same. You’ll be facing fines, jail time and will have to register as a sex offender until you die. You’ll have a hard time getting a new job and, if you hold a professional license, you’ll be in jeopardy of losing it.
If you’ve been charged or accused of any sort of child sex crime in Idaho, call our office right away. You’re going to need a criminal defense lawyer who has a lot of experience handling these matters. Call our office right away and schedule a consultation. Let one of our expert criminal defense attorneys review your case and let you know what you’re up against. There’s simply too much at stake to try to handle this on your own.