What is Possession of Child Pornography?

Possession of child pornogaphy in Wisconsin is a Class D felony, which means if you're convicted, you could face 25 years in prison. The courts are required to sentence a defendant to a least three years initial confinement for each count. Don't face possession of child pornography charges on your own. We have decades of experience as the top criminal defense attorneys in Milwaukee and will do everything possible to secure a successful criminal defense.

The State must prove two elements for Possession of Child Pornography:

1. That you possessed a “recording” (which includes undeveloped film, photographic negatives, photographs, motion pictures, videotapes, images on a hard drive or computer printouts)
2. The recording showed a “child” engaged in “sexually explicit conduct”

In addition, the statute requires that the following elements be met:

1. That you knew you possessed the materials
2. That you knew the “character and content” of the material
3. That you “knew or reasonably should have known” that the person in the material was under 18.

The experienced sex crime defense attorneys at Birdsall Obear & Associates have many defenses to such a charge, particularly with regard to digital images. Because digital images are so easily manipulated, even experts are often unable to determine if the images are real, or have been altered. For example, what appears to be a child could be an adult whose breasts have been reduced/eliminated, hips slimmed, and facial features altered (which can all be done with commercially available software).

Another defense is that the image does not show “sexually explicit conduct.” Even in Wisconsin, “mere nudity” is not enough. There must be an unnatural focus on sexual regions and it must appeal to sexual tendencies. This is difficult to get past judges and juries who view any pictures of naked children as “explicit.”

Often, the defense of this charge hinges on the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution: questioning whether the search and seizure of the items in question was lawful. This is because the images are often contained on computers or found as hard copies in storage spaces.

Wisconsin penalties for Possession of Child Pornography:

1. 15 months prison maximum
2. 3 years mandatory minimum (unless the court finds the public will not be harmed)

Source:
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2005/statutes/statutes/948/12/1m

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Attorneys John A. Birdsall and Kirk B. Obear are Milwaukee criminal attorneys who have won countless cases over the past decades. Their aggressive defense strategy is unsurpassed and has placed them among the best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Milwaukee.

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Our lawyers are simply the best sexual assault defense law firm Wisconsin has to offer. Contact our Milwaukee Criminal Attorneys at Birdsall Obear & Associates.