The prosecution in child pornography cases can be stressful to defend without the help of a Charleston lawyer to protect your rights. Hiring a practiced criminal defense attorney could help you build a defense strategy that negates or minimizes the allegations against you.
Elements of a Charleston Child Pornography Case
There are some important elements of a Charleston child pornography case that would be contested in court; however, these factors depend on the case. If the defendant’s IP address has been part of an online chat group on the Dark Web and getting encrypted data, then they would want to evaluate whether it was an open network or a closed network.
In an open network, the legal professional would ask who else had access to the internet the suspect used. In a closed network, the question would be who else had access to the network within the residence.
If there are images on a device, the Charleston legal counsel may want to look into who else had access to the device other than the person charged. If there are files, but the files were never opened, that could show there was no intent to view the images. These images can come in through Trojan horses, and if an individual has never accessed the devices or the files, that is strong evidence that they are not guilty of committing the offense.
Traveling with Sexually Explicit Images of Minors
If somebody has child porn and they are traveling into the country, they need to know that it is illegal to travel with it. Even if they are not looking at it, if there are images of underage people in sexually explicit activities, if they are found in a border search, they could be prosecuted on child pornography charges.
Are Child Pornography Cases Prosecuted in State or Federal Court?
Child pornography cases are typically prosecuted in both state and federal court. In South Carolina, the attorney general’s office has a dedicated specialized unit that brings a lot of cases throughout the state, and then the government brings cases to federal court. Typically, the federal court cases are larger in scope than the state court cases.
The Burden of the Prosecution
In a Charleston child pornography case, the prosecution needs to prove that the evidence in question is an image of an underage child in sexually explicit conduct and that the individual knowingly possessed it.
The prosecution proves its case usually through the use of experts who have a lot of training in the detection and prosecution of child pornography cases. Oftentimes, it is from the FBI lab at Quantico. That is why it is so important for a defendant to hire qualified legal guidance to fight the evidence against them.
Evidence
The government relies on expert witnesses and a lot of technology to strengthen their case. They use IT evidence and oftentimes bring in experts to testify because they cannot find the children in the images. These experts are sometimes questionable. They could claim that a person is underage, but they may actually be an adult.
Federal Prosecutors
Everyone should know that federal prosecutors often have unlimited resources. If images have been on a computer, they are likely going to be able to find them. However, prosecutors also make assumptions. They can jump to conclusions, so it is very important to battle them image by image to try to achieve the best possible outcome in their case.
Charleston Trial Process
No one likes the idea of child pornography, so finding a fair jury is a significant challenge in this type of case. The instinct is to protect the children. It is really important to be very thoughtful about how one approaches the voir dire and the types of jurors that they get to hear the case.
Contact a Charleston Child Pornography Defense Attorney about Prosecution
These cases can get a lot of publicity, so it certainly is possible that the media will show up at a bond hearing or arraignment. They may cover the case and the individual’s picture could be in the paper, which could be very disruptive to a defendant’s life.
To protect your reputation and defend yourself against the serious accusations the prosecution is making towards you, call a Charleston child pornography lawyer.
