Being vulnerable citizens, children are extensively protected by the law against all forms of violations. One of the protections is against sexual exploitation through child pornography. In Texas, it is one of the greatest offenses since it entails the violation of a child’s innocence.
Being accused or convicted of this crime leads to instant punishment, and some consequences can be severe. As a sex offender, you are likely to land in jail, and sometimes you may have to pay more in fines. The charges and consequences do not end there; you must live with the consequences for a lifetime.
Possession of Child Pornography: Definition and Perpetuation of Harm
This is one of the most diverse crimes that entail various aspects. The charges vary and are diverse; hence, when arrested for the crime, you should reach out possession of a child pornography defense attorney immediately.
From a statutory framework, you must be in a position of the images or videos to be guilty. Secondly, the distribution of this content also qualifies as a crime.
Uploading the content to internet platforms, including social media and pornographic sites, is a crime. You will also be guilty whenever you send or share the content with other people.
Thirdly, the storage of such content is also a crime, especially when you are arrested in possession of storage devices and cloud platforms with child porn content. Therefore, you need to be very cautious due to the vastness of the provision for which you will be charged.
Recording such acts is also a crime under the provision of the Texas law. A deep interest in exploitation, creating, and suggesting to children to partake in such activities is also covered under the crimes provision.
The Legal Consequences in Texas
Now that you know how grave the possession of child pornography can be, here are some consequences you must be ready to confront.
The Third-Degree Felony
Ideally, the punishment will be based on the extent of the crime and whatever you possess. Possession of 100 or fewer visual depictions will lead to 2 to 10 years in jail and a fine of a maximum of 000.
Second-Degree Felony
If you are arrested with over 100 and below 500 visual depictions, you face up to a maximum of 20 years in jail. The finance will be about 000, but the jail time is mostly over a decade. However, if you are a first-time offender, you may get a maximum of 10 years.
First-Degree Felony
This is usually the worst of the crime, and the jail term begins from 25 to a maximum of 100 years. To be charged with such crimes, you must possess over 500 visual depictions or have committed the crime for long enough.
Additionally, life imprisonment is normally given to those in the category of enhanced first-degree felonies.
Other Consequences
Besides serving time and paying the fines, you must live with the consequences. The state immediately adds your name to the registry for sex offenders. Once you are in this registry, it lasts a lifetime.
Such crimes are looked down upon by society, affecting social aspects of your life. The consequences will extend to your viability for employment in certain industries.
Conclusion
Abusing children will likely land you severe punishments, and it gets worse when you have no lawyer. You should hire one of the most qualified defense attorneys to help you with your evidence presentation and argument on consequences. You also need to have good evidence of how you possessed the contents, whether knowingly or unknowingly.