United States Federal Statutes provided by your criminal lawyer

Learn the law. Here is the child abuse and child molestation law from the United States Federal Code.

Note: These excerpts are for informational purposes only. Please consult your child abuse lawyer, child abuse defense for legal advice if you are in need of only the best child molestation attorney.

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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``paragraph''.
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(2) Whoever violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a)(5) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, but, if such person has a prior conviction under this chapter, chapter 109A, or chapter 117, or under the laws of any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, or the production, possession, receipt, mailing, sale, distribution, shipment, or transportation of child pornography, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 2 years nor more than 10 years.

(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating paragraphs \1\ (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) that--

(1) the alleged child pornography was produced using an actual person or persons engaging in sexually explicit conduct;

(2) each such person was an adult at the time the material was produced; and

(3) the defendant did not advertise, promote, present, describe, or distribute the material in such a manner as to convey the impression that it is or contains a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

(d) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating subsection (a)(5) that the defendant--

(1) possessed less than three images of child pornography; and

(2) promptly and in good faith, and without retaining or allowing any person, other than a law enforcement agency, to access any image or copy thereof--

(A) took reasonable steps to destroy each such image; or

(B) reported the matter to a law enforcement agency and afforded that agency access to each such image.

(Added Pub. L. 104-208, div. A, title I, Sec. 101(a) [title I, Sec. 121[3(a)]], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009-26, 3009-28; amended Pub. L. 105-314, title II, Secs. 202(b), 203(b), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 2978.)

Amendments

1998--Subsec. (a)(5)(A), (B). Pub. L. 105-314, Sec. 203(b)(1), substituted ``an image'' for ``3 or more images''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105-314, Sec. 202(b), substituted ``, chapter 109A, or chapter 117'' for ``or chapter 109A'' in pars. (1) and (2) and substituted ``aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, or the production, possession, receipt, mailing, sale, distribution, shipment, or transportation of child pornography'' for ``the possession of child pornography'' in par.

(2).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105-314, Sec. 203(b)(2), added subsec. (d).

Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 2253, 2254, 2255, 3486 of this title; title 42 sections 2000aa, 13032.