Articles Posted in Child Pornography

As an Aggressive Criminal Attorney and Former Baltimore County Prosecutor, I have defended dozens if not hundreds of individuals who have been charged with Possession and/or Distribution of Child Pornography. I have been practicing exclusively criminal defense for the last 17 years since leaving the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and handle these types of cases all over the State. There is simply no question that they are prosecuted more aggressively in Baltimore County than in most any other jurisdiction. For this reason, it is imperative to find a full time criminal attorney who has substantial experience handling Child Pornography cases, in Baltimore County.

I recently defended an individual in Baltimore County that is a good illustration of how aggressively these cases are prosecuted there. Here are the facts:
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As an aggressive Criminal Defense Attorney, who is also a former Assistant State’s Attorney, I have helped numerous clients accused or charged with possession or distribution of child pornography. These serious charges can be prosecuted in State court or Federal court. Since State criminal charges are different than Federal criminal charges, which often carry far more severe punishment, I team up with my partner and former Federal Prosecutor Andrew White, who led the sex offense unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for more than 7 years. Over the years Andy has had tremendous success using his connections to have these cases prosecuted in State courts where there are no minimum mandatory sentences, as there are in the federal system. However, even in State court, these serious crimes may result in a felony conviction, extended prison sentences and the requirement to register as a sex offender.
Serious consequences In Maryland, a conviction even for Misdemeanor Possession of Child Porn mandates registration as a Tier I Sex Offender for 15 years. A conviction for Felony Distribution or Possession with the Intent to Distribute Child Porn mandates registration as a Tier II Sex Offender for 25 years. Additionally, a charge of possession for distribution of child pornography will likely impact every aspect of your life. From job prospects, to where you can live, to not being able to step on the property of your child’s school, to having the police notify your neighbors of your status, as well as inclusion on sex offender websites with your exact home address and picture.
I recently had a young man facing these daunting consequences. Here is what happened:
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As an Aggressive Criminal Attorney and former prosecutor with 20 years of experience, I have been involved in the prosecution of hundreds of cases involving the possession and distribution of Child Pornography, on both sides of the aisle. These are very serious offenses that almost invariably result in the incarceration of defendants who are convicted.

Because the Child Pornography is almost always distributed and downloaded from the internet, there is dual federal and state jurisdiction to prosecute these cases. Often the mere threat of a federal prosecution is enough to convince defendants charged in the state system to accept plea bargains because the penalties in the federal system are draconian and mandatory. Anyone charged with these very serious charges needs to immediately retain an experienced criminal defense attorney to represent them. As I said, I have handled many of these cases. Here are the specifics on one I handled recently.
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As a Former Baltimore Prosecutor and current criminal attorney I have been involved in the prosecution of hundreds of child sex offenders. The disgraced and now deceased Johns Hopkins Gynecologist, Dr. Nikita Levy, would have likely faced prosecution under multiple federal and state criminal statutes had he not apparently committed suicide. The police are conducting an investigation that could potentially lead to charges against others if they either conspired with him to collect the images without the knowledge of the victims or if the materials were distributed to by others. In addition to many other areas of practice at STSW, we have a Practice Area Exclusively Dedicated to the Protection of Victim’s Rights.

Among the most serious charges that could have been filed against Dr. Levy and anyone who may have participated with him in these crimes, are charges involving the possession, distribution and manufacture of child pornography. According to news reports, many of his long time patients sent subsequently sent their daughters to him for gynecological care. Assuming any of the large cache of photos allegedly found in his home, turn out to be of minor victims, these statutes have undoubtedly been violated.
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As a Baltimore Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer/Attorney I have represented many people charged with various offenses related to the possession, distribution and manufacturing of child pornography. Jurisdiction exists to prosecute these cases in both Federal Court by the US Attorney’s Office and the State Court system. As in the case in most crimes for which there is dual jurisdiction, the penalties are much harsher in the federal system. In fact, there are mandatory minimum sentences in Federal Court of 5 years for receiving, 10 years for distribution, and 15 years for manufacturing child pornography. There are mandatory sentences in the state system.

In recent years, these matters have received much higher priority from both state and federal prosecutors and the two authorities collaborate closely on these cases. In what many on the defense side see as an unfair tactic, state prosecutors often use the threat of federal prosecution to convince (some say coerce) a defendant charged in the state system, to plead guilty. I am currently representing a man who is charged with distribution of child pornography who finds himself facing this very situation. I have handled many cases like this as a Baltimore Criminal Defense Attorney but what makes this case different is that the State’s theory for proving my client’s intent to distribute is his use of a file sharing program called Limewire. Here are the facts:
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