Possession of child pornography and other internet sex crimes carry serious penalties, even for someone as young as 18. A Jackson County man has just been arrested and is facing 15 felony charges including possession of child pornography, child sexploitation, and child sex crimes involving a computer.
The 18-year-old is accused of soliciting nude photos from young girls and then using those photos as blackmail to obtain more photos. Allegedly, he would meet girls as young as 13 on the internet and convince them to send him a nude photo. Next, police say, he would threaten to send that photo to the victim’s parents if she did not send more photos.
Police investigated the matter after receiving a report from the parents of a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl. The accused man allegedly sent the parents a nude photo of their daughter after she refused to send him more pictures of herself.
This case shows just how serious child pornography and other sex crimes are. State and Federal authorities do not hesitate to prosecute defendants of these crimes to the full extent of the law. If convicted, the Wisconsin man will likely spend years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Cases involving internet sex crimes are especially difficult for defendants because the evidence against them is usually strong. Prosecutors are often able to use the defendant’s computer and his internet activity records as evidence against him.
Even someone as young as 18 years old can face serious charges for computer sex crimes, especially when those crimes involve minors. The young man will first appear in court next month.
Source: WKBT.com, “Wisconsin Man Charged in Internet Sex Crimes Investigation,” Lou Hillman, January 2011