Los Angeles County Criminal Lawyer Blog

Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in Oxnard after connecting him to a group of 18 men spread across 14 states that are suspected of trading sexually explicit images of underage males. According to CBSLocal.com, the man was found communicating and trading child pornography over an online portal and was arrested on April 3.

The man now faces a 10-count indictment that resulted from investigations from both the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles agencies. Investigations into the group began in 2008 when an Arizona boy began receiving sexually suggestive text messages from a Lake Forest man who turned out to be a youth soccer coach. He was convicted of transporting child pornography and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011.

If convicted, the maximum penalties for the Oxnard suspect can reach 110 years in state prison.

Under California Penal Code Section 311.1, "Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of ... any obscene matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under the age of 18 years personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct" is guilty of breaking child pornography laws. This is punishable by one year in county jail and/or a $1,000 fine if deemed a misdemeanor, or a two, three, or six year sentence in state prison and/or up to a $100,000 fine if it is found to be a felony.

In addition, if the crime is a repeat offense, up to $50,000 in extra fines can be brought against the guilty party. Under Section 311.4, a person who knowingly hires a minor to perform any sexual acts can be punished by county jail imprisonment for up to one year and up to $2,000 in fines. Also, the hiring or coercing of a minor to create child pornography is a felony punishable by three, six, or eight years in state prison.

Conviction of child pornography charges not only brings lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines, but social and professional repercussions that can follow a convicted defendant around for the rest of his or her life. For help with your case from the dedicated Oxnard child pornography defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Daniel Kann, call (805) 290-4932.

A 58-year-old man was arrested in his Ontario, California home on December 2nd after police discovered his collection of over 500,000 images and 7,500 videos of child pornography, according to Reuters. The collection is possibly the largest ever seized in U.S. history, and has so far led to the arrests of nine other men across Southern California that the suspect led them to after his arrest.

Police had originally raided the man's home in July on a search warrant and seized multiple computers and hard drives containing the vast collection of child pornography, but did not arrest the suspect until recently with the cooperation of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The man now faces federal charges of possessing, receiving, and distributing child pornography, and could face a maximum sentence of 50 years imprisonment. The other men arrested in the crackdown face similar charges.

Any form of involvement with child pornography is illegal at the state court level in California and the federal court level in the United States as a whole. Under California Penal Code Section 311, child pornography is defined as "obscene matter" and a person is guilty under Section 311.3 (a), "if he or she knowingly develops, duplicates, prints, or exchanges any representation of information, data, or image ... that depicts a person under the age of 18 years engaged in an act of sexual conduct." Possessing child pornography can be punished by up to 10 years in federal prison under 18 U.S.C 2252A(a)(5)(B), and both receiving and distributing child pornography can each be punished by five to 20 years of imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(2)(A). Producing child pornography can be punished federally by imprisonment of up to 30 years under 18 U.S.C. 2251(a).

Child pornography charges carry both severe penalties and social repercussions that can damage both personal relationships and employment and ruin your life as you would be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life. The California criminal defense lawyers at The Law Offices of Daniel Kann can fight for your rights in court if you are facing such charges. Contact our law team for a complimentary consultation on your case by calling (310) 954-9356.