Child pornography crimes often carry very serious penalties that can leave you with expensive fines and long jail terms. These are some of the most serious crimes in our society, and penalties can extend beyond jail time.
All child pornography crimes are felony-level offenses, meaning they can all result in over a year in jail. Even the lowest penalties for simple possession of child pornography can result in 3-5 years in jail and fines up to $15,000. The penalties can also include Megan’s Law registration as a sex offender. Juveniles arrested for child pornography possession can also face penalties.
For a free review of your case, contact the Atlantic City child pornography defense lawyers at the Law Offices of John J. Zarych today at (609) 616-4956.
Prison Time and Criminal Fines for Child Pornography Offenses in NJ
There are multiple offenses contained in NJ’s child pornography statute, N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4. Crimes can be broken down by the specific act, where it is illegal to possess, distribute, host, or even view child pornography. However, penalties are increased for production, participation in, or filming child pornography. There are also differences in the jail time based on how many items of child pornography were possessed.
Keep in mind when assessing how serious these penalties are that NJ does not use the terms “felony” or “misdemeanor.” Instead, NJ crimes are broken down into “indictable crimes” (or “indictable offenses”) and “disorderly persons offenses.” All of the offenses discussed here are indictable crimes, which carry the potential of over 1 year in jail and would be called “felonies” in other states or in the federal system.
Production
Actually allowing children to engage in sex acts to produce child pornography is the most serious offense child pornography offense. This is a first degree crime, which is the highest level of crime in New Jersey. This carries a potential of up to $200,000 in fines and 10-20 years in prison.
Producing child pornography by filming it, taking pictures, or making a computer image is a step removed if you did not actually induce the child to perform the sex acts in question. As such, this is a second degree crime instead, with penalties up to $150,000 in fines and 5-10 years in prison.
Possession with the Intent to Distribute and Actual Distribution
If you are convicted of distributing child pornography, possessing it with the intent to distribute it, or hosting a file-sharing program so you can host files for others to view or download, that is a very serious crime, too. This crime can be committed either by actually delivering photos or videos to people, sending them files online, hosting the files for them to copy or download, or otherwise delivering the items to other people. Even having the items in your possession with the intent to give them to others is also illegal.
Here, the severity of the offense depends on how many items of child pornography you had or delivered. If it was 1,000 or more, that is a first degree crime with 15-20 years in prison and fines up to $200,000. For this crime, you must serve at least 10 years in prison, or 1/3 to 1/2 the total sentence if that is greater, before you are eligible for parole.
If it was under 1,000, that is a second degree crime with 5-10 years in prison and fines up to $150,000. If you had over 25 items but were still under 1,000, then you must serve at least 5 years before you are eligible for parole. Alternatively, this is also set at 1/3 to 1/2 the total sentence if that is more time in jail.
Keep in mind that every individual image or file is an independent item for counting purposes, but videos count as 10 items.
Repeat offenses get increased prison time.
Simple Possession
Simply possessing or viewing child pornography on your own is still a serious crime, but it does not have the same harm as making or distributing it. As such, these penalties are based more closely on how many items you had.
For 100,000 or more items, the crime is a first degree crime. This carries the same 10-20 years in prison and max fines of $200,000 as the other first degree crimes above.
For 1,000 or more items but under 100,000, it is a second degree crime. This again has 5-10 years in prison and fines up to $150,000.
For under 1,000 items – which includes even 1 item – you can be convicted of a third degree crime and face 3-5 years in prison and fines up to $15,000.
For any case with 100 or more items, you must have a sentence involving prison time unless the court deems it a “serious injustice” to jail you.
Megan’s Law/Sex Offender Registration for Child Pornography Possession in NJ
Megan’s Law requires sex offender registration for certain sex crimes. This list does include § N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4, but it focuses on parts of subsection (a), dealing with acts of child endangerment other than child pornography, and parts of subsection (b)(5)(i)-(ii), dealing specifically with distribution and possession with the intent to distribute child pornography. That means that you might not always have to register for mere possession, but other offenses worthy of registration might also require registration.
Penalties for Minors Involved in Possession of Child Pornography
Minors can still face penalties for producing or possessing child pornography, but they are not usually “found guilty” or “convicted” in the same way. Our juvenile justice system uses different rules and different penalties. You or your child should nonetheless have legal representation if charged.
Sex offender registration might be required for juveniles as well. However, the law has a specific carve-out that says sex offender registration should not be required when the production, distribution, or possession with the intent to distribute charges are for photos distributed only online, made by a juvenile, and made with a consenting subject. This helps juveniles who send nude photos of themselves or their significant others avoid sex offender registration for what could potentially be a youthful indiscretion rather than an attempt to harm or endanger children.
Call Our Child Pornography Defense Lawyers in NJ Today
If you are facing charges for child pornography crimes, call the Gloucester City, NJ child pornography defense attorneys at the Law Offices of John J. Zarych today at (609) 616-4956.
