Being charged with an internet sex crime is serious, and if you are convicted, you may be facing up to 30 years in federal prison. If you do not hire legal counsel, the chances that you may be serving a lengthy sentence increase substantially. Andrew C. Beasley has experience defending a wide range of internet-based offenses as a sex crimes attorney, and he is ready to work on your behalf. If you are up against criminal allegations, you need to contact our Nashville internet sex crimes lawyer to help you discern your legal options.
Types of Internet Sex Crimes
Internet sex crimes may include any of the following charges, and our internet sex crimes attorneys in Nashville have experience with cases involving all of them.
Sextortion
Sextortion involves an abuse of power to gain sexual favors or may involve blackmail. As an internet crime, it can manifest in threatening emails. An example of blackmail would involve an email coercing the victim to perform certain tasks in exchange for not releasing sensitive information. Sextortion is a federal crime, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison if the offender has any history of sex crimes against minors, with a minimum sentence of 15 years.
Solicitation of Minors
Under 18 United States Code §2422, it is illegal to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in prostitution or any sexual act. This applies to either interstate or foreign commerce. If you are found guilty, you could face up to 20 years in federal prison, with a fine of $250,000.
Child Sex Trafficking
Sex trafficking is the use of fraud, force, or coercion to get a person to engage in a commercial sexual act. When it involves the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of minors, it becomes child sex trafficking. If the sex trafficking victim is younger than 14 years old, a conviction will result in a prison term between 15 years and life, along with a hefty fine.
Sexting with a Minor
While the act of sending sexual text messages is legal, it is a crime to send these messages to a minor. Besides messaging, sexting can also include sexual images, which may be sent through text messages, emails, social media platforms, online chats, and other forms of electronic communication.
It depends on the circumstances whether sexting is charged on the federal level. If you are found guilty of sexting, you will likely be charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1470 (transferring obscene material to a minor). A conviction under this statute carries a prison sentence of 10-40 years.
Child Pornography
In a single year, there were more than 76,000 cases of child pornography. As one of the most prevalent internet sex crimes, child pornography is the visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexual activity. The possession, production, and distribution of child pornography are illegal. If a judge determines that you have violated federal law, you could be sentenced to 20 years in prison for possession alone.
What Are Possible Defenses to These Charges?
A charge does not mean that you will automatically be found guilty of a crime. An experienced Nashville internet sex crimes attorney can explore possible defenses to your charges, which may include that the photographs were not of a sexual nature, you were unaware that the person was a minor, or the messages and photographs were unwanted, and you immediately deleted them
Speak with our Nashville, TN, Internet Sex Crimes Lawyer
An internet sex crimes charge can ruin your reputation, making it more difficult for you to pursue your ambitions. Fighting these charges must be your priority, and if you contact our Nashville internet sex crimes lawyer, it will most certainly be his. Contact our office online or by calling (615) 846-9889 to schedule your free consultation.
