Articles Tagged with Possession of Child Pornography

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Dozens of people are facing charges after federal authorities conducted a sweep of the messaging app Telegram. Such messaging apps are becoming popular for sharing criminal material, according to authorities, especially child pornography. The initiative was called “Operation Swipe Left.” 

As a result, more than two dozen people are facing charges for accessing the encrypted chatrooms where such material is shared. In this case, authorities found access to live-streamed sex abuse materials. In one case, authorities raided a home to find the man playing a video depicting an infant being abused. Four children were rescued as abuse was occurring. 

Determining Penalties for These Charges

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A former Dixmoor police officer is being held on $1 million bail after being found in possession of dozens of images of child pornography. The officer faces three felony charges related to the possession of child pornography. Police found 35 images on his phone. In some cases, the girls pictured on the phone were described as “prepubescent.” 

In some states, you can be charged for each image found in your possession. In Illinois, they will charge you for each depiction of a minor. In this case, three victims were found on the defendant’s phone. Hence, he is facing three felony charges related to the possession of child pornography. The same girl was found in several of the pictures. Police will track down the victim to determine if more criminal charges are justified. If the defendant created the pornography, then that is another crime the state can add to the ledger. 

Police were tipped off when child pornography was found in the account of the defendant’s email. The tip was sent to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which forwarded the tip to law enforcement, which confronted the officer and seized three phones from his possession, all of which contained the files in the tip. 

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Child sex abuse material (CSAM) remains a major concern for law enforcement. Today, the penalties for possession, dissemination, and creation of CSAM are higher than ever before. Part of the role that law enforcement plays is identifying victims. Today, it is possible to generate the face of a random individual that looks real. Could producers of CSAM use this technology to produce illegal pornography? Absolutely. 

But is it a crime?

What Remains Illegal?

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You have probably seen ads for AI image generators on social media and are wondering about the legality of that and how it can be legally used. Most of that remains unclear; today, it is possible to put major public figures into images and photos potentially doing compromising things. While on the one hand, this can be used in ugly and nefarious ways. On the other hand, it casts doubt on the veracity of all images. 

Revenge porn, child pornography, and other illegal forms of pornography seem now to have a legal avenue into the mainstream. While AI art-generating sites will prevent images with nudity from being generated, it remains within the realm of possibility to create images of an ex or illegal pornography for personal use. What does the law say about this?

It is illegal

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A former Rolling Hills police officer is under federal investigation after authorities discovered that the man had been using an online dating app to either get underage girls to send him pornographic pictures of themselves or arrange to have sex with these girls. While the investigation has yet to lead to any charges, a 2019 affidavit seeking to search the former officer’s home was unsealed recently. The affidavit appeared to contain transcripts of conversations between the defendant and underage girls offering money for sex. 

The officer was linked to an account on the dating site Seeking Arrangements which had several complaints filed against it for child exploitation. The website markets itself as a “Sugar Daddy” website on which ostensibly younger women can find rich older men. Why such a site would allow minors to have accounts in the first place is another matter for consideration. The officer’s account was closed after the complaints were filed against him. While the officer has resigned from the police force amid the allegations, he is not named in the news due to the fact that he was not charged with any crime. 

How Was the Officer Caught?

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Notable actor Jerry Harris, who skyrocketed to fame after his appearance in Netflix’s “Cheer” docuseries, is facing charges related to child pornography. The Cook County native is alleged to have solicited sexual pictures and videos from boys as young as 13 years old at cheerleading competitions. 

Harris has been on talk shows, the Oscars, and has more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

Harris Arrested by the FBI

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A former Chicago Public Schools football coach has been accused of sexual misconduct with one of his players. This individual is also accused of taking nude photos of the student and then posting those photos in the victim’s apartment building and in areas that would be on the way to his school. 

Curtis Thomas worked at the Bronzeville Scholastic Institute High School when the alleged assault occurred. His official title was “school community representative.” Thomas was fired in 2014 and placed on a “do not hire” list. 

CPS officials are not speaking publicly about the incident. They refused to indicate whether Thomas was a football coach on the team when the student was assaulted. Prosecutors, however, said that Thomas was among the football coaches on the team at the time of the assault. The boy was 15 in 2010 when the assault occurred. 

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glenn-carstens-peters-npxXWgQ33ZQ-unsplash-copy-300x200A Wheeling School District middle school teacher is facing charges of possession of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography, and unlawful video recording. Each of these is a felony. The Illinois State Attorney General’s office released a statement concerning Scott Pollack (45) of Lake in the Hills. Pollack’s residence was searched and the search uncovered evidence of alleged child pornography.

If convicted, Pollack would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 54 years behind bars. Below, we will take a look at each of the charges.

Possession of Child Pornography

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fabian-grohs-396734-copy-300x240At the same time that Illinois has eliminated the statute of limitations on sexual assault, an Oak Forest man is accused of predatory sexual assault of a minor, possession of child pornography, and 23 other felony crimes related to those two main counts. The sexual assault is alleged to have been perpetrated against a minor under the age of 13.

Jason Akai was indicted earlier this month and can face between six and 30 years for each felony count of criminal sexual conduct toward a minor. He was also charged with 19 counts of felony possession of child pornography, which would tack on another 15 years.

Alongside Akai, Kimberly Schubert is being charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor under the age of 13 and felony possession of child pornography. Schubert has also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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While the First Amendment protects the right of adults to watch and produce pornography, this right is not without limitations. For example, child pornography is not protected under the First Amendment and is always illegal. Child pornography is any visual depiction of a minor, aka a person under 18 years old, engaging in a sexual activity. In recent years the federal government has become more and more focused on prosecuting those who have allegedly produced, distributed, or viewed child pornography.

One of the most recent child pornography cases in Illinois involves a Yorkville man who was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison for a child pornography conviction and for violating the Sex Offender Registration Act, reports MyInforms.com. As the man had been convicted of child pornography related crimes three times before, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office conducted a compliance check in December 2015 to confirm that the Yorkville man was in compliance with the Sex Offender Registration Act. MyInforms.com notes that via this compliance check the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered that approximately 100 images depicting child pornography had been downloaded to the man’s personal computer. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found that the man was illegally in possession of images showing children younger than 13 years old engaged in sexual acts. The man was charged with five counts of possessing child pornography depicting a child less than 13 years, which is a Class 1 felony.

The Sex Offender Registration Act

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