Families of SOs Community Group
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I am sure most if not all of the members here know this allready, but I will post it even if there is ONE person who dosen't know.
This information directly affected my son's sentencing---and it was a total shock to us, as parents.
First, as background: My son was convicted on one count of RECEIPT of CP, instead of the lesser charge of
POSSESSION of CP--althought the difference was debated in court. Anyway, he had a total of 6 short videos that depicted females under the age of 18, having sex or committing a sexual act.
The state attorney ( this happened in Georgia--one of the most tougher states on these matters) explained to the judge, since these were videos, not still photos, that it would be reasonable to assume that my son had upwards of over 1000 pictures, and here is how it was determined.
Each FRAME of video consist of (2) alternating scans, the first is all of the odd scanning lines, then all of the EVEN scan lines, to make 1 frame of video. There are 30 frames to each SECOND of video, thus in a 10 second clip of video, there would be 300 individual FRAMES. The court determined that each FRAME would constitute an individual picture. Thus, having a 10-second video depicting an underage sex act, would be the same, in the eyes of the court, as possessing 300 PICTURES!!!
Now, of course, I am supposing, that he probably did not have JUST 10second clips...some of may have been 20seconds or maybe a minute...I don't know...his laptop still resides either with the FBI in Georgia, or the State of Georgia archives. The videos were never shown in court. Only his attorney could view them under the watch of the FBI.(who did all of the supposed forensics on the computer).
So, all in all, by having 6 of these videos, placed him at the top of the heap, so to speak, of having over 1000 pictures. And of course, there was NO DISCUSSION of let's say, your video showed 2 or 3 seconds of a hotel bed, then maybe 4 or 5 seconds of a female sitting on the bed, a few more seconds of simply small talk with the individual in the video(i.e.--no nudity or sex involved,yet..)...you can see where I'm going with this. Nope, your designation as to how many pictures you possess would be based on Frame 1 till the end of the video ( I guess we should be all grateful there was no credits at the end, thus adding another 800 to 1200 "pictures".
My point is.....and I am not here defending him on what he did...indeed, he SHOULD NOT of done it, but he did. However, I know for sure if he had known that each second of video that he downloaded would consists of 300 pictures, and he could be prosecuted as such, maybe, just maybe this would of been some kind of impulse control. The bottom line of this made him out to be something he was (and is) not!! The prosecutor made it seem that because of the amount of "pictures" he had on his computer, he had to be a menace to his neighborhood...and thus, his designation as to his sentencing was set VERY high, insuring the near max of sentencing..150 months (15yrs). With Federal crimes, a convicted felon must serve 85% of his sentence,,,thus his being 12yrs., 8 months...and that is if he has no hiccups ( fights, slitary confinement,ect) while he is serving his time.
Just wanted everyone to know the EXTREME ramifications of downloading videos. If you are caught with them, you will be more harshly punished.
Thanks for reading, and thank you all for your comments, discussions and support.
Jim from Jacksonville, FL
This information directly affected my son's sentencing---and it was a total shock to us, as parents.
First, as background: My son was convicted on one count of RECEIPT of CP, instead of the lesser charge of
POSSESSION of CP--althought the difference was debated in court. Anyway, he had a total of 6 short videos that depicted females under the age of 18, having sex or committing a sexual act.
The state attorney ( this happened in Georgia--one of the most tougher states on these matters) explained to the judge, since these were videos, not still photos, that it would be reasonable to assume that my son had upwards of over 1000 pictures, and here is how it was determined.
Each FRAME of video consist of (2) alternating scans, the first is all of the odd scanning lines, then all of the EVEN scan lines, to make 1 frame of video. There are 30 frames to each SECOND of video, thus in a 10 second clip of video, there would be 300 individual FRAMES. The court determined that each FRAME would constitute an individual picture. Thus, having a 10-second video depicting an underage sex act, would be the same, in the eyes of the court, as possessing 300 PICTURES!!!
Now, of course, I am supposing, that he probably did not have JUST 10second clips...some of may have been 20seconds or maybe a minute...I don't know...his laptop still resides either with the FBI in Georgia, or the State of Georgia archives. The videos were never shown in court. Only his attorney could view them under the watch of the FBI.(who did all of the supposed forensics on the computer).
So, all in all, by having 6 of these videos, placed him at the top of the heap, so to speak, of having over 1000 pictures. And of course, there was NO DISCUSSION of let's say, your video showed 2 or 3 seconds of a hotel bed, then maybe 4 or 5 seconds of a female sitting on the bed, a few more seconds of simply small talk with the individual in the video(i.e.--no nudity or sex involved,yet..)...you can see where I'm going with this. Nope, your designation as to how many pictures you possess would be based on Frame 1 till the end of the video ( I guess we should be all grateful there was no credits at the end, thus adding another 800 to 1200 "pictures".
My point is.....and I am not here defending him on what he did...indeed, he SHOULD NOT of done it, but he did. However, I know for sure if he had known that each second of video that he downloaded would consists of 300 pictures, and he could be prosecuted as such, maybe, just maybe this would of been some kind of impulse control. The bottom line of this made him out to be something he was (and is) not!! The prosecutor made it seem that because of the amount of "pictures" he had on his computer, he had to be a menace to his neighborhood...and thus, his designation as to his sentencing was set VERY high, insuring the near max of sentencing..150 months (15yrs). With Federal crimes, a convicted felon must serve 85% of his sentence,,,thus his being 12yrs., 8 months...and that is if he has no hiccups ( fights, slitary confinement,ect) while he is serving his time.
Just wanted everyone to know the EXTREME ramifications of downloading videos. If you are caught with them, you will be more harshly punished.
Thanks for reading, and thank you all for your comments, discussions and support.
Jim from Jacksonville, FL
Are you a member of the online support group CautionClick.com? If not, I would suggest looking into it next time you have a few minutes. They are working to change the dracodion laws associated with downloading CP. I imagine you would be a valuable asset to them, as informed as you are.
My brother was charged at a state level for sexual exploitation of a minor, which is essentially the same thing as downloading CP. He too had a few short videoes and when the media got hold of his story he was portrayed as a real sicko whom had a massive collection upwards of 3000 pictures. Though technically he didn't have any still pictures at all.
I wonder exactly how many people are sitting in state/federal prison right now for downloading this stuff? Is there any way to find out such a number?
I spent almost a decade in prison and I met and talked with probably several thousand offenders during that time. I knew some of my fellow inmates' charges and some I didn't. I didn't really care one way or the other. But the charges were, in almost every case, different than the actual crime. I know because I read a lot of these guys' court documents.
I know nobody does it here, but this is why it is so wrong to judge people by the crime the state or the feds have convicted them on. So, I don't even listen to anyone's charges anymore, as it is irrelevant.
As for this specific instance with the pictures and video count in a child pornography case, everyone familiar with the criminal justice system knows the purpose of this dishonesty by the prosecution. The first reason is to taint the public image of the defendant and attempt to make him or her a monster just in case the case goes to trial. They want to subtlety get into any potential juror's mind that the defendant is a monster. That always makes a successful prosecution easier.
The second reason is that it makes the prosecution's case for a plea bargain easier. I liken it to blackmail, in that the prosecutor is really saying, "You take my plea bargain, what I have to offer or face "x" amount of years in prison, with "x" being an ungodly sentence that any defendant cannot live with.
Prosecutors do this all the time and it is one of their favorite tactics. If they would show a little honesty in bringing the charges, it would be called justice.
And anyone who has been through the system knows that what we have now is anything but justice.
There will be a special place in hell for prosecutors.
rewdiazepam
If you just want to know the final resules to the sentencing hearing, you need to obtain a J&S. It will not tell you everything that was said at the hearing, but it will give you a limited amouint of information.
You should be able to obtain a J&S (Judgement and Sentence document) from the Court Clerk of the county in which your son was convicted.
rewdiazepam
Here is the procedure for Georgia. Just follow the following link.
http://tinyurl.com/a82y9js
Hope this helps.
rewdiazepam
You will have to register here. If you are going to look up just one case (your son's) it may not cost anything. They don't bill for any fees under $15/month. You will also be able to print out these documents for your reference if you like.
Thanks for sharing how they count "videos". It is so confusing dealing with how they count these things.
If you cannot find what you need on Pacer, here is another link which may be of assistance.
http://tinyurl.com/3ydsbt3
Find the court and then look for the court reporter information. There will be a cost to obtain the transcript, but I do not know the rates.
If this link does not give you the information needed to obtain your son's transcript, send me a message and I will find one that does.
rewdiazepam
Some politicians have privately said they do not agree with the laws but would not say so publicly because it would be "political suicide."
I strongly agree with the previous suggestion to contact CautionClick. They are very motivated to fight these unfair laws governing CP.