Federal Child Pornography Charges in Texas
Criminal Defense Attorney Fights for The Accused in Dallas & Collin County
Possession and distribution of child pornography carries a heavy penalty under Federal law and is addressed in Title 18 §2251 et. seq. The penalties can range from a minimum mandatory sentence of five years under Title 18 U.S.C §2252 to a sentence of more than 20 years according to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, depending upon the number of images, the type of images, and the circumstances of the offense. Federal Prosecutors also have the option to ‘charge’ a defendant a multitude of different ways in order to secure a mandatory minimum sentence of 5, 10, or up to 15 years in prison for basically the same conduct. The consequences also lead to mandatory sexual offender registration.
Contact Dallas and Collin County Federal Criminal Defense Attorney J. Michael Price II if you or a loved one has been accused of possessing or distributing child pornography.
While the penalties are harsh, there are many arguments that can be made for lower sentence based on mitigating circumstances. Cases decided by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Booker, Kimbrough v. United States, and Gall v. United States have opened the door to sentence variances below the sentencing guidelines. Federal sentencing courts can now sentence below the harsh guidelines which had been enacted by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to an earlier misconception that these guidelines would be applied to sexual predators and exploitation of children.
Most child pornography cases prosecuted in federal court do not involve persons who are involved in reprehensible conduct such as molestation, rapist, or sexual predators. These cases will more often involve a law abiding citizen, a respectable member of a community with a family and a career, who makes the mistake of exchanging these images on the internet. A psychosexual evaluation conducted by a licensed clinical psychologist can present a thorough analysis of the underlying problems that led to this conduct and can recommend the strategies and therapies which can be employed to prevent future conduct. I use all the tools that are available to aggressively fight to get the best resolution for every client accused with these types of crimes.