Penalties

Vegas Defense Firm Explains Penalties for Child Pornography

Nevada law broadly defines child pornography offenses in a subsection in Chapter 200, which is the Chapter of the Nevada penal code that criminalizes offenses against persons. There are different statutes within the subsection that relate to child pornography which aim to criminalize all types of behavior related to possessing, producing, or distributing content depicting minors in sexual ways.

The subsection of Chapter 200 related to pornography offenses involving minors also contains a statute that sets forth the penalties applicable for defendants convicted of child pornography crimes. It is important to understand what these penalties are, what a prosecutor must do to prove you are deserving of these penalties, and what your options are for trying to avoid conviction so you can reduce these penalties.

LV Criminal Defense is here to help you. Our legal team has provided representation to many defendants who successfully navigated the criminal justice system to reduce or avoid penalties for crimes against persons, including child pornography crimes. Just give us a call today to talk with a Vegas criminal defense attorney who can provide the advocacy you need to get the best result in a very fraught situation.

Nevada Revised Statute Section 200.750: Penalties for Child Pornography Offenses

Nevada Revised Statute section 200.710 makes it unlawful to use a minor in producing pornography or to use a minor as the subject of a sexual portrayal in any type of performance. Sexual portrayal is defined broadly to include any circumstance in which a minor is portrayed in a sexual manner without artistic, political, or scientific merit. If the depiction is designed to appeal to the prurient interest in sex, the depiction is unlawful. Performance is also defined broadly to include a play, photograph, Internet representation, visual image, or virtually any depiction of a child in any media.

Nevada Revised Statute criminalizes the preparing, advertising, or distribution of materials that depict pornography involving a minor, while N.R.S. 200.727 details the crime of using the Internet to control any type of visual presentation that depicts the sexual conduct of a minor. Together, the statutes that make up the subsection of Chapter 200 related to pornography offenses involving minors outlaw virtually all connections with child pornography, including making it, producing it, soliciting it, funding it, possessing it in any form, distributing it in any form, or requesting it in any form.

The penalties for a defendant who violates the rules related to child pornography are found in Nevada Revised Statute section 200.750. The relevant statute indicates that when a defendant engages in actions that promote the sexual performance of a child in any way, the defendant can be charged with a Category A felony.

If the minor is under the age of 14 at the time of the incident when the pornography is made, produced, distributed, or controlled, the defendant could be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole if the defendant is convicted. A defendant could not become eligible for parole until a minimum of 10 years of incarceration have passed. If the minor is 14 or over, the defendant could still be charged with a Category A felony. However, the penalty under these circumstances could include life imprisonment with the possibility of becoming eligible for parole after five years of incarceration. A defendant could be further punished with a maximum fine of up to $100,000, regardless of the age of the minor involved in the pornographic material.