Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Three weeks ago a federal grand jury in Oklahoma City convicted a California man of interstate travel from Nevada to Oklahoma for the purpose of having sexual relations with an eight year old girl as well as possessing child pornography. An informant for the FBI acted as the girl’s mother, which is how he was eventually caught. When he was arrested in Oklahoma, he had a laptop allegedly containing child pornography.

The crime of child pornography possession in Nevada outlaws possessing anything showing or involving children in a sexual manner or that’s meant to appeal to sexual desires. The crime of child pornography possession in Nevada encompasses all possible media that may depict children obscenely, including photographs, videos and audio recordings.

The penalties for the crime of child pornography possession in Nevada are very harsh if the child is under age sixteen. A first offense is charged as a category B felony, carrying one to six years imprisonment. Subsequent offenses are charged as a category A felony, carrying one year to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The judge may also order fines of up to $5,000.

A California man was sentenced last month in Nevada federal court on child pornography charges. While living in Reno, he allegedly coerced an eight-year-old into performing sexual acts, and he’s now looking at more than twenty-four years in federal prison. He had no prior criminal record.

One breaks Nevada child pornography law by owning, creating or selling photos, videos or other media of children engaging in sexual conduct. Penalties for breaking Nevada child pornography law are extremely serious and vary depending on whether the suspect allegedly produced it, advertised it or possessed it. It’s also considered a crime involving moral turpitude, so non-citizens convicted of it face deportation from the U.S.

Using or promoting the use of a child in pornography is a category A felony, carrying a life sentence. Advertising child pornography is a category B felony, carrying one to fifteen years in prison. And possessing child pornography is a category B felony for a first offense—subsequent convictions are category A. Defenses to charges of breaking Nevada child pornography law include “lack of intent” and the media in question not qualifying as pornography.

On Wednesday, two men were booked into the Washoe County Jail for allegedly violating Nevada child pornography law. One man is listed as a Tier-2 sex offender, and police say he posed as a 13-year-old girl on MySpace in search of underage girls to befriend.

Nevada child pornography law makes a first offense of child porn possession (depicting children under sixteen) a category B felony, carrying one to six years imprisonment. A second offense is category A, punishable by a year to life (with the possibility of parole). Judges also have the discretion to order a fine of $5,000.

Nevada child pornography law metes out harsher punishment for advertising child pornography. A first offense is also a category B felony, but its sentence range is one to fifteen years and/or a $15,000 fine.