Child Pornography – Frequently Asked Questions: California Penal Code 311 PC
I accidentally clicked a pop-up that led me to a child pornography website and now I’m being investigated, what can I do?
Unfortunately, some websites host several types of content — some of that content is legal, other content is not. Many pop-ups used to advertise on websites are put together by third-party companies and there is a chance that a sting operation advertisement ends up in the mix.
These ads will track your IP if you click them and can lead to a police investigation and child porn charges. There are many things you can do to defend yourself if this happens. Your child pornography defense attorney will be able to assist you to fight your case.
But I never downloaded any child pornography, how did the police get a search warrant for my computer?
Even if you do not intentionally download child pornography, you may still have unknowingly saved some offensive files while browsing other websites for completely different purposes. This can happen for many reasons. For instance, many sites save cookies to your browser history which may contain child pornography content that was hidden on the page, and the police can use that cookie to track your identity.
The most difficult issue in this case is that law enforcement can only see so much information when using sting operations to pursue pedophiles. They cannot tell who the specific downloader of the content was, only the computer or network that was used. Although the law is slowly catching up with technology, there are still many in the legal community who do not fully understand the number of considerations in cases like these.
What if I thought the individuals in the pornographic material were adults?
You may have a solid defense if this is the case and you should contact a child pornography defense attorney to discuss your options. Under California Penal Code Section 311, the prosecution is required to demonstrate you had knowledge that the individuals in the pornographic materials were under the age of 18. If you truly believed the people in the material were over 18, then you have a strong case and the attorneys at Wallin & Klarich can help you argue this to the court.
Can I be charged with child pornography if the pornographic material belonged to someone else?
Unfortunately, yes. Ownership is not necessarily limited to one person in the eyes of the law. For example, if you own a particular object, but your friend is currently in possession of that object, both of you could be considered to be in “possession” of that object at the same time and face child porn charges. It is enough if you had the control or the right to control the object, or material, either personally or through another person. However, the prosecution must still prove all of the elements of the crime to convict you.
Can my child receive child porn charges for “sexting?”
Yes. “Sexting” is a term or expression that is used to refer to the sending of sexually explicit text messages. Under California Penal Code section 311, there is no age requirement for possessing child pornography. If your child is engaging in “sexting,” then he or she faces a real risk of permanently damaging his or her reputation, and may be subject to severe consequences. If your child engaged in this kind of activity and is now facing child porn charges, the experienced attorneys at Wallin & Klarich can help your family fight your case.
Call Wallin & Klarich Today if you are Facing Child Porn Charges
When you are in need of a defense attorney for child pornography charges, you want an attorney that is experienced and is willing to fight for your rights. At Wallin & Klarich, we have over 40 years of experience defending our clients from child pornography related crimes.
With offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Victorville, West Covina, San Diego, Torrance and Sherman Oaks., there is an experienced Wallin & Klarich criminal defense available near you no matter where you work or live.
If you would like to schedule a phone consultation with one of our child pornography attorneys, please call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL (877-466-5245).
