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I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography

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  • 04-14-2011, 12:48 AM
    indeepdoodoo
    I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Washington

    I am in trouble for possessing child pornography.

    Actually, the search warrant said DEALING in and possessing. But I have never shared anything with anyone.

    I am a 53 year old woman. No criminal history. There were maybe 4 videos on my machine, as well as whatever they find erased...who knows how many are erased.

    They served the search warrant, took everything, and did not take me to jail. They said it would take months to work through the forensic stuff.

    They mentioned that I could be eligible for Ssosa, alternative sentencing. But I do not think my crime is eligible for that because it says you have to know your victim.

    Anyway. I KNOW I am in deep. I know it was wrong and evil and bad and I cannot make any excuses for what I did. I just don't want my whole life changed over this..you know? I mean. Registering as a sex offender. Having my name in the papers.
    Prison time.

    I have tried and tried to find what the sentence ranges on this kind of charge, but I cannot seem to understand it.
  • 04-14-2011, 01:42 AM
    aardvarc
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Quote:

    They said it would take months to work through the forensic stuff.
    The FBI lab isn't quick. They process the bulk of such cases in Washington via a regional task force.

    Quote:

    the sentence ranges on this kind of charge
    Until the actual charges, whether state, federal, or both, are brought...AND the potential number of counts is known (likely at least one count for each file or partial file found), any guess would be speculation at best. The US attorney that oversees the Washington district has a firm reputation for taking state cases to a federal grand jury, (particularly US Attorney Marc Perez) and trying the case in federal court. If that happens, and there is a conviction, the mandatory minimum is 5 years, the max being 15, plus lifetime sex offender registration. If the case stays in Washington as a state-only case, the judge has more leeway in sentencing. If there is a "dealing" charge, meaning that your computer facilitated the transfer of files to other users, there is a higher chance that the higher range of sentence would be requested by the prosecutor.
  • 04-14-2011, 01:52 AM
    indeepdoodoo
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Oh my god. Well, I can understand why they encouraged me not to commit suicide.
    Well. I really have to make some decisions. This will make it impossible to live anywhere.

    My life is seriously over.

    Do not get me wrong. I do not at all intend to compare my situation with those of the children who are victimized on these films. There is no excuse for what I did. Well, there are reasons, but no excuses.

    OMG the thought of my family. My children. They are adults with children of their own now.

    I cannot seem to think of a way out of this without everyone knowing.
  • 04-14-2011, 02:10 AM
    Dogmatique
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Frankly this is one of those times where I recommend the OP speak ONLY to an attorney.
  • 04-14-2011, 10:56 AM
    indeepdoodoo
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Of course I should talk to an attorney. But I am disabled and live on less than a thousand dollars a month. And since I am an offender, not a victim, the chances that I would have access to any free counsel is nil until I get charged and assigned a PD.

    AARDVARK appears to be a fine resource for victims, but in this case I am not the victim. So the advice given seems a little skewed.

    While looking at sentencing grids here: http://www.sgc.wa.gov/sgc/stats/FY20..._SummaryT2.pdf

    It seems to me that in 2006 zero people charged with possession of depictions of minors in explicit situations were sent to prison. So that seems that there was some sort of diversion in place there, right?
  • 04-14-2011, 01:29 PM
    aardvarc
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Quote:

    Quoting indeepdoodoo
    View Post
    Of course I should talk to an attorney. But I am disabled and live on less than a thousand dollars a month. And since I am an offender, not a victim, the chances that I would have access to any free counsel is nil until I get charged and assigned a PD.

    In criminal cases, the victim is only a witness, they don't get or need an attorney - because it's the government's case against you, not the victim's. ONLY offenders have need for counsel in a criminal case.

    Quote:

    AARDVARK appears to be a fine resource for victims, but in this case I am not the victim. So the advice given seems a little skewed.
    Skewed? The federal penalties are very clear; the mandatory minimum for downloading images is five years in prison without parole. If they go after you for distributing under 18 USC 2252 (Protect Our Children Act), it's a 10 year minimum. The guidelines in federal cases are well spelled out, which is one reason why there is often a strong preference to try such cases in federal rather than state court. Visit the website of the United States Sentencing Commission at www.ussc.gov and you can look up the relevent information on federal sentencing for yourself.


    Quote:

    While looking at sentencing grids here: http://www.sgc.wa.gov/sgc/stats/FY20..._SummaryT2.pdf

    It seems to me that in 2006 zero people charged with possession of depictions of minors in explicit situations were sent to prison. So that seems that there was some sort of diversion in place there, right?
    The latest sentincing guidelines for Washington can be found at:

    http://www.sgc.wa.gov/Publications/S...anual_2008.pdf

    You'd need to know the exact statute number that the state is charging you under (if the state and not feds are prosecuting), then figure out your offender score (should be the lowest since you have no priors and the crime didn't involve violence), and from there you find the offense level and look across to find the guideline for sentencing expressed as a number of months. 2008 is the lastest full publication, and the 2009 updates didn't touch on any classes that would apply to your case. That'll tell you what's POSSIBLE, under CURRENT law. But take a look at the table you referenced above. What that table doesn't convey, is that the state prosecutes few of these cases (in 2006, only 50 prosecutions for your state). The trend since 2007 (when a plethora of initiatives and joint task forces were born) is for multi-jurisdictional approaches and federal level prosecution. The feds tend to pass on cases where the federal rules of evidence work against them, rather than in their favor, and let those cases fall to the state (translation: in practical application, the state gets to prosecute the weaker cases). If a distribution charge is on the table, odds are not in your favor for a state-level prosecution.

    You are also looking at 2006 numbers, PRIOR to a lot of legislation, and initiatives like Project Safe Childhood that swung into effect in late 2006, that have come out to crack down on these offenses. Here's the latest published numbers, from 2010:

    http://www.sgc.wa.gov/Publications/S...Sum_FY2010.pdf

    Note that as opposed to 50 cases in 2006, the state only prosecuted 31 total cases of possession in 2010 (and similar lower numbers for 2008 and 2009). That's not because fewer offenders are being apprehended and prosecuted, it's because the feds are taking the brunt of cases into federal court.

    Bottom line is that until you are formally arraigned, know if the prosecution is going to be state or federal (or even BOTH, for different counts) and the exact charges and number of counts are known, it's an academic exercise.
  • 04-14-2011, 01:39 PM
    indeepdoodoo
    Re: I Am in Trouble for Possessing Child Pornography
    Ms. NeSmith -

    Thank you for that information. I am facing RCW 9.68A.050 Dealing in depictions...
    And RCW 9.68A.070 Possession of depictions. I will fight (or rather flog my Public Defender to fight) the Dealing charge until the bitter end. I NEVER KNOWINGLY shared this shameful secret with anyone ever.
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