What to Do if Police Are Asking About Illegal Pornographic Material on Your Computer

Getting Help With Megan's Law Allegations

Of all the crimes one may be charged with, sex crimes are especially scary, and perhaps none more so than possession, receipt, production, or distribution of child pornography. Even if eventually found not guilty in a court of law, the damage to your reputation can be life-altering. If found guilty, there may be serious jail time involved and decades on Megan's List.  

Getting help is difficult. What kind of lawyer can you speak to? Will what you say to that lawyer be kept confidential given reporting laws? Will searching for a lawyer on the internet trigger suspicion from Google or the Government?  

So first, some ground rules: yes, anything that you say to your lawyer, is confidential. There was a time when the legislature in Pennsylvania contemplated making lawyers mandatory reporters. Luckily, someone came to their senses and realized it would be impossible to represent those accused of such crimes from mounting a defense if they could not safely and confidentially tell their lawyer their side of the story. 

Pennsylvania And Federal Child Pornography Laws

Second, child porn laws are far-reaching. When I was a kid (many, many years ago), a girl might show a boy she liked him by kissing him, holding hands, dating. Today, some kids do something a little dumber and far more permanent: they take pictures and send them to their new found loves on their smart phones (sexting). The law often treats these children as criminals; and more importantly, this "criminal activity" can have lifelong consequences requiring registration as a sex offender if the one who sends the material is over the age of 18. What was just a little fun has now become a serious, possibly federal case. 

Worse, many people using the internet are not particularly tech-savvy. There was a time when to use the internet conferred a certain guarantee of technical know-how. Today, if you have a laptop, you're free to surf the information superhighway; with no safeguards in place, you can quickly become the victim of ransomware hackers. 

Often parents allow their children free access to the internet and the home computer without thinking what kind of material their children may have access to. I've seen cases where a son downloads terabytes of movies off Russian servers only to infect the computer with computer viruses and child pornography. Or, teens, not thinking about long-term consequences go on to websites like Reddit or 4chan and access material they should not have touched. 

In general, the law does not care how you came to be in possession of the material, the law only cares that you possessed it. Why, might be something that is sorted out later - but not before your reputation is destroyed and your name has been plastered all over the news. 

What To Do If The Police Are Asking Questions

If you think you need legal assistance because of material you've encountered on the internet, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible. If you receive any correspondence from a law enforcement agency, it is in your best interest to seek out a lawyer to ensure your rights will be safeguarded and you will be treated as fairly as possible.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Remember: whenever the Government brings a criminal prosecution, the Government has to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Even when prohibited images or videos are found on a computer, the Government may not be able to prove who downloaded them. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that you do not speak with investigators without first consulting with an attorney.

A Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Help With Child Pornography Charges

Internet Crimes Lawyers - Philadelphia, PA

Child pornography cases can be incredibly complex and come with such serious consequences this is not the time to delay and see what happens. You must act quickly and aggressively to protect yourself and your family. Call 267-225-2545 for a free, confidential consultation. 

SORNA/Megan's Law Update - PA Supreme Court Reduces Registration Requirements for Many First Time Offenders

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently announced some important changes for defendants previously facing or subject to registration on “Megan’s Law” for certain non-violent sexual offenses such as possession of child pornography. The Court held that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) requires fifteen years of registration on Megan’s Law instead of lifetime registration for many first-time offenders convicted of multiple counts at the same time.
 
Previously, the State Police, who are responsible for implementing the registration component of SORNA, required first time offenders who were convicted of multiple counts of possession of child pornography or other Tier I or Tier II Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) offenses at the same time to register as Tier III offenders and to register for life. This interpretation of the statute had a tremendous impact on virtually all potentially Tier I defendants because police and prosecutors have enormous discretion in determining how many counts with which to charge any given defendant. For example, the prosecutor decides how many charges to bring against a defendant who possessed multiple prohibited images or multiple computers containing prohibited images. Prior to the Court’s ruling, if the prosecutor brought multiple counts, the defendant would potentially be subject to lifetime registration under the State Police’s interpretation of the Act. If the prosecutor brought only one count, then the defendant would be subject to fifteen years of registration. Prosecutors often could use this leverage to extract guilty pleas out of defendants with defensible cases by agreeing to allow the defendant to plead to only one count and thereby avoid lifetime registration in exchange for a guilty plea. 
 
However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just rejected the State Police’s interpretation of the statute. In the companion cases of Commonwealth v. Lutz-Morrison and A.S. v. PA State Police, the Supreme Court ruled that first time offenders without prior sex offense convictions are properly classified as Tier I or Tier II offenders (depending on the Tier of the offense) and subject only to fifteen or twenty-five year registration requirements regardless of how many counts the prosecutor chooses to file. The Court’s ruling hinges on language in the registration statute making someone with “[t]wo or more convictions of offenses listed as Tier I or Tier II sexual offenses” a Tier III offender." The Court held that because the SORNA law is a recidivist statute, meaning it is meant to provide an increasing level of punishment as an offender commits subsequent offenses, the statute “requires an act, a conviction, and a subsequent act to trigger lifetime registration for multiple offenses otherwise subject to a fifteen- or twenty-five-year period of registration.”
 
It appears likely that the Court’s interpretation will be applied retroactively, meaning that offenders who were already deemed lifetime offenders by the State Police may have the opportunity to be re-classified. It is not yet clear whether the State Police will require each offender to file suit, file some sort of paperwork with the State Police, or whether the State Police will re-classify offenders automatically. It is also possible that there may be statutory time limits on an offender’s ability to petition for reclassification. Therefore, it is critical that you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately if you are facing potential sex offense charges or already subject to lifetime registration under these or similar circumstances. 

The top-rated attorneys of Goldstein Mehta LLC have extensive experience representing individuals charged under Pennsylvania's SORNA and Megan's Law statutes. Our attorneys are extremely knowledgeable about recent developments in the law and able to use that knowledge to our clients' advantage. Call 267-225-2545 today for a free, confidential consultation. 

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