Ocean City Child Pornography Lawyer

A child pornography charge can lead to large fines and even jail time. However, having an experienced sex crimes attorney can help ease the process. The social stigma surrounding a child pornography charge could have lasting effects on your life. An experienced Ocean City child pornography lawyer can help answer any questions, concerns or issues that might come up during a case.

Potential Penalties

There is a statute in Maryland under the criminal law called child pornography. It is a felony and for first offenders, it carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and possibly a fine. However, if it is a subsequent violation then the maximum penalty increases to 20 years.  There is another offense that relates to possessing materials of victims under the age of 16, but minors typically mean they are under the age of 18. There’s also a separate offense for knowingly possessing and intentionally retaining the photographs or films or other images of an actual child under the age of 16 years.

In a nutshell, that means having photographs or having videos of an actual child under the age of 16 who’s engaging in some sort of sexual conduct or some sort of sadomasochistic abuse. It is actually a misdemeanor and the maximum penalty is five years making it extremely important that a Ocean City child pornography attorney is consulted.

Law Enforcement Investigative Approach

It is a very forensic-driven crime. Law enforcement will be able to see what websites the person has been viewing, and can download anything and keep it on their computer. The same goes for the individual’s cell phone. In fact, often cases deal with more cellphones than computers.

Anywhere that a person could store the images in question or be able to access them is fair game for the police to search. It is a little bit unusual because obviously there has to be some testimony or proof about the age of the people that are depicted in the videos or the films.

It is important to note that these investigations can get very complicated. In some cases, it is clear that the people in question are minors. At the same time, there can easily be many situations where age is unclear.

Ocean City Child Pornography Laws

The laws that apply in Ocean City are the laws that apply throughout the state of Maryland. These laws are located in the Maryland annotated code and the penalties are the same no matter where the crime took place. In Ocean City, it’s the same thing for pornography – the maximum penalty is 10 years and for possession of images of a child who is under the age of 16, it’s a maximum penalty of five years. But again, if the person has a prior violation, then the penalties can be greater.

Unique Aspects

There are a couple of things that make them kind of distinct. There are going to be some aspects of this that involve the searching of a defendant’s computer or a phone.

This deals with the Fourth Amendment because it will involve a search and seizure of the person’s house. Often times what happens is detectives come in, they seize cellphones and computers and they then take them to their Bureau of Investigation who is an expert and somebody who’s been trained to search and pull those materials off of computers.

Consulting With an Ocean City Child Pornography Lawyer

Child pornography charges are treated very seriously in court, so it crucial to have a local Ocean City child pornography lawyer when dealing with these cases. Since these cases are very sensitive, having an experienced attorney to consult and build a case with will benefit a case greatly. If you have been charged with child pornography, it is critical to contact an Ocean City Child Pornography lawyer immediately.