Larry Nassar was once a prominent physician with USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University Athletics. His complete fall from grace occurred recently when he was sentenced to 40-175 years in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of young female patients over the course of his long and – until recently – celebrated career. As part of a plea deal, Nassar was sentenced after the Michigan state court judge heard seven days of victim impact statements from women he had assaulted.
Nassar’s sentencing for sexual assault is big news at the moment, with the judge in the case having been quoted as saying she “signed his death warrant.” Powerful, dramatic stuff.
There’s one problem, however: there’s almost no way he’ll actually serve that state sentence.
Why?
Because before that sentence begins, he must first serve a 60-year federal sentence for a child pornography conviction the government secured against him in July of 2017.
In that case, Nasser pled guilty to three federal counts of receiving and possessing child pornography, as well as destroying and concealing evidence.
The 60-year sentence imposed in this case must be served without the benefit of parole; thus, even with limited goodtime benefits, he must serve roughly 52 years on the sentence. Put bluntly, Nassar will die in federal penal custody.
With such attention being paid to his notably lengthy sentence for sexual assault, it seemed like a good time to remind people that child pornography charges can result in sentences comparable to life imprisonment and, therefore, need to be taken just as seriously.
To that end, below we’re going to take a look at federal child pornography laws and sentencing.
Definition of Child Pornography Under Federal Law
Child pornography is a form of sexual exploitation of children. It is defined by federal law as visual depiction (either pictures or videos) of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor less than 18 years of age.
Production, distribution, importation, reception, and possession of child pornography are all prohibited by federal law. Any violations of these laws are severely punished, with lengthy mandatory minimum prison sentences and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
The Changing Face of Child Pornography
Child pornography creates a permanent record of a child’s sexual abuse, especially when it is distributed over the internet. It is virtually impossible to erase these horrific depictions, meaning the child is perpetually re-victimized upon encountering the material, as well as the simple knowledge that it will remain on the internet forever.
Distribution of child pornography over the internet permits repeated exchanges of the material among child pornographers, leading to more children being sexually exploited to satisfy the increasing global demand for the material. The U.S. government has, therefore, cracked down on child pornography in recent years, often conducting sting operations to catch child pornographers in the act.
These crackdowns notwithstanding, child pornographic images/videos depicting violent or sadistic sexual abuse of children has created a global market for the sharing and distribution of this kind of material—some of which involves toddlers and infants.
Prosecution and Sentencing of Federal Child Pornography Offenses
Federal child pornography laws address the following offenses related to child pornography:
- Production of child pornography
- Buying and selling of children
- Possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography
- Attempting to destroy evidence of child pornography and other possession-related activities
- Production of child pornography for importation into the United States
First-time offenders may be sentenced to 15-30 years in prison per violation. Due to the nature of internet distribution of child pornography, multiple charges are common in these cases, as exampled in the Nassar case.
If convicted of child pornography-related charges, you will almost certainly be required to register as a sex offender. This means that you will have to enter your name, address, and past offenses into a registry used to track and monitor sex offenders. The period of registration in these cases are generally for a lifetime.
Importantly, you could also face state child pornography charges in addition to or instead of federal charges.
What to do if You Discover a Suspected Child Pornography Website
The internet is a vast collection of links and files, and sometimes the links don’t lead where you expect. It’s therefore possible to accidentally encounter child pornography without the intent to do so. If you accidentally open or download child pornography, is it possible to be prosecuted for a crime? Or will you be protected by your lack of intent?
This is the crux of the issue. Because intent is difficult to prove with any internet crime, many child pornography laws explicitly state that the prosecution need not prove the element of intent to successfully convict a defendant of child pornography charges.
In many cases, investigators will place a suspect under surveillance and look for evidence of multiple offenses in order to preclude an accidental download defense.
As a matter of overriding precaution, we recommend that you contact local law enforcement the moment you encounter anything that appears to be child pornography. You may also consult the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.
If in doubt, you can also reach out to a knowledgeable Texas criminal lawyer for advice on your best course of action.
If you are facing child pornography charges or are concerned that you may face these charges, you should absolutely contact an experienced Texas criminal attorney as soon as possible. Your consultation is completely confidential, and a skilled lawyer will be able to advise you on how best to protect your rights.