Federal Child Pornography Shipping, Reproducing, Selling, and Possession Charges in Miami

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012, in state and federal court. Everything you tell us is confidential. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Section 2252: Visual Depictions of Minors

Each of these three versions requires proof that producing the depiction involved a real minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, that the depiction shows that conduct, that there is a federal link (mail, interstate or foreign commerce, or materials such as a device that traveled in commerce), and that you knew at least one performer was a minor and knew the depiction showed sexually explicit conduct. The act differs:

• O83.2B: knowingly reproducing a depiction (the statute says "for distribution").
• O83.2C: knowingly selling, or possessing with intent to sell.
• O83.2D: knowingly possessing, or accessing with intent to view, one or more items containing such a depiction.

Section 2252A: "Child Pornography"

These versions require that you knowingly did the act, a federal link (including by computer), and that you knew the material was child pornography. Each comes in two versions, depending on what the government says the images are:

• An image of an actual minor, or one altered to look like an identifiable minor: O83.3A (mailing, transporting, or shipping) and O83.5A (possessing or accessing with intent to view).
• A digital or computer-generated image indistinguishable from a real minor, even if no real child was used: O83.3B and O83.5B. "Indistinguishable" means an ordinary person would conclude it shows an actual minor. Drawings, cartoons, sculptures, and paintings are excluded.

Penalties

• Shipping, transporting, reproducing, selling (and receiving or distributing): 5 to 20 years, with a 5-year mandatory minimum. With a prior qualifying conviction: 15 to 40 years.
• Possessing or accessing: up to 10 years; up to 20 years if any image involved a prepubescent minor or a child under 12. With a prior qualifying conviction: 10 to 20 years.
• Attempts and conspiracies carry the same ranges.
• Supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.
• Registration under federal law (15 years, 25 years, or life, by tier), and Florida counts federal convictions for similar offenses.

A separate subsection, § 2252A(a)(7), punishes producing with intent to distribute, or distributing, an adapted or modified depiction of an identifiable minor, with up to 15 years. See AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material for Florida's law.

Defenses Written Into the Statutes

• Few images, promptly destroyed or reported. For possession, it is a defense that you had fewer than three images (or items), and promptly and in good faith, without keeping a copy or letting anyone but law enforcement access them, took reasonable steps to destroy them or reported them to law enforcement and gave it access.
• Adults, or no real minor. For most § 2252A charges, it is a defense that the people shown were adults when it was made, or that no real minor was used. The no-real-minor defense is not available for images altered to show an identifiable minor. The defense must give notice no later than 14 days before trial, or lose it unless extraordinary circumstances prevented timely notice.

How We Defend These Cases

• Knowledge. Automatic downloads, file-sharing software, cache files, and files no one opened.
• Access. Shared devices, Wi-Fi, and accounts.
• Age and authenticity. Whether the government can prove a real minor, or an image legally "indistinguishable" from one.
• The warrant. See Motions to Suppress.

What to Do First

1. Don't talk to agents at the door. Ask for a lawyer.
2. Don't delete or wipe anything.
3. Call us. See Turning Yourself In.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012 in state and federal court.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

See our Results page, Federal Criminal Defense, Child Pornography (CSAM) for Florida charges, and Sex Crimes Defense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a mandatory minimum for possession?

Not for a first possession offense. Shipping, reproducing, selling, receiving, and distributing carry a 5-year minimum, and a prior qualifying conviction raises the ranges.

What if the images are computer-generated?

Federal law covers images indistinguishable from a real minor, but not drawings or cartoons. Whether an image qualifies depends on the facts.