Under California Penal Code section 311, possession of child pornography is a felony offense. If you are convicted of this crime, the consequences will affect you for the rest of your life. The child pornography process in San Bernardino is extremely complicated. That is why you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you navigate this legal matter.
Child Pornography Charges in San Bernardino (PC 311)
PC 311 prohibits the possession or control of pornographic materials containing content with minors. For example, if a person downloads or saves child pornography to his or her personal computer, that most likely qualifies as possession or control of child pornography materials. Sharing, emailing or otherwise distributing copies of the material also are considered violations of PC 311.
If you are facing charges for child pornography in San Bernardino, your reputation and freedom are at stake. It is critical that you contact a San Bernardino child pornography attorney immediately.
Sentencing and Punishment of Child Pornography
If you are convicted of a child pornography offense in San Bernardino, you could be sentenced to up to one year in county jail. You also face fines of up to $2,500. Worse than this, you will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life under California Penal Code Section 290.
You could also face more severe punishment depending on the circumstances of your case.
Defenses to Child Pornography Charges
At Wallin & Klarich, our San Bernardino criminal defense attorneys have been defending clients accused of child pornography crimes for over 30 years. Some of the defenses we have successfully used to help our clients facing child pornography charges include:
Lack of Possession – To secure a conviction against you, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you “knowingly” participated in the production, possession or distribution of pornography-related materials involving minors. If you did not know you had child pornography on your computer, your child pornography attorney can argue a lack of knowledge of any possible illegal images by establishing the following:
- Any possible illegal images were deleted from your computer’s web browser, history and/or cookies, assuming that you only viewed the images online; or
- Any possible illegal images were deleted from your web browser, history and/or cookies, and you lacked specific knowledge as to how to locate the images on your computer
Age – The age defense applies if you did not know the people depicted in the images were under the age of 18. If you were not aware that the people depicted in the images were minors, you can’t be convicted of this crime.
Not Aware of the Nature of Obscene Matter – If you did not know or were unaware that the materials in your possession depicted child pornography, your San Bernardino attorney can argue this as a defense.
Other Defenses – Depending on the facts of your specific case, your experienced attorney may also be able to use one of the following defenses:
- Entrapment
- Illegal Search and Seizure
- Legitimate Scientific of Education Purpose
Call a San Bernardino Child Pornography Attorney Today
If you are facing child pornography charges in San Bernardino, you need to speak with an experienced San Bernardino child pornography attorney immediately. At Wallin & Klarich, our skilled criminal defense lawyers have been successfully defending our clients accused of child pornography crimes for over 30 years. We know the local San Bernardino courts, and we know the legal process in San Bernardino. Let us help you now.
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.
Call us today at (888) 280-6839 for a free phone consultation. We will be there when you call.