Houston Child Pornography Defense Lawyer

Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography in Texas

The general Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography Law and full text can be found in section 43.26 of the Texas Penal Code.

You can be charged with possession or promotion of child pornography if:

• You knowingly or intentionally possess, or knowingly or intentionally access with intent to view, material that depicts a child younger than 18 (at the time the image was made), including victims of sex trafficking, AND you know that the material depicts the child in this manner.
• It is an affirmative defense if:
  • You are married to the child depicted
  • The material was for a bona fide educational, medical, psychological, psychiatric, judicial, law enforcement, or legislative purpose, OR
  • If you are not more than 2 years older than the child
• An offense of the above is a 3^rd Degree Felony punishable from 2-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. If you have a prior conviction it’s a 2^nd Degree Felony, which jumps the range to 2-20 years, and if you have 2 prior convictions it is a 1^st Degree Felony, which make the charge 5-99 years and a fine of up to $10,000.

You can also be charged with Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography if:

• You knowingly or intentionally promote or possess with intent to promote material described above AND you know that the material depicts the child in an illegal fashion
• A person who possesses visual material that contains 6 or more identical visual depictions is presumed to possess with the intent to promote the material.
• An offense under this section is a 2^nd Degree Felony punishable 2-20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000. It is a 1^st Degree Felony punishable 5-99 years in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000 if you have a prior conviction.

What do I do if I am charged with Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography in Texas?

The state is going to consider you a sexual predator.  It doesn’t matter in the eyes of the system that they are just pictures or videos, they are going to consider it a sinister crime.

Most of the time there is some sort of undercover operation that results in a search warrant, and the seizure of all your electronics.  Law enforcement monitors the internet, peer to peer sharing applications, and sometimes sets up sting operations.  If you are found to be in possession of images or videos depicting child pornography, they can charge you for every single picture.  Just today I saw a news story where a man was found with hundreds of images, and the DAs office decided to pick 10 images and charge him with 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

Not only does that mean that the court could stack the sentences (meaning if you are given 2 years on all 10 counts, that it could be a 20-year sentence), but you would also have to post 10 bonds if the judge grants a bond on the case.

Sometimes individuals just go online, start downloading all sorts of stuff on peer to peer networks, and have no idea what they are receiving (and potentially sharing with others).  I have the ability to get your case reviewed by some of the top computer crime experts in the country.  If there is a way to show the state that you had no intent to possess, or knowledge that the files were on your device, we will find that way.

If you are guilty, then my job is to be there by your side and do everything I can to do damage control.  I want to get you the best possible resolution, so you can hopefully someday start fresh and put this behind you (as much as possible).