I know I have asked this before, but there has got to be a way to get an idea of just how many people are locked up for god knows how long for looking at illegal pictures that they had no part in creating. Before my brother was arrested for this exact crime, never would I have believed that our country is actually locking people up and throwing away the key over these types of charges. I believe we live in a country of self centered and self absorbed people who all they care about is money. if we could get even a rough estimate of how many people are locked up for downloading CP then explain to them how much it costs a year to house each of those inmates , combine that with all the research and proof that is out there saying that viewing CP does not make someone a pedophile, anymore then watching a movies that has images of death makes someone a murderer. If we could show them how many millions of dollars this country is pissing away, maybe that would help turn the tide..

my boy will be sentenced on march 19th - looking at 11year sentencing guidline for c.p. he just turned 20. i am seeing a lot of young kids getting wrapped up in this as my son tells me not once did he search for it - it would just pop up like so many other pics. i am sure like my son a lot of these kids don't know the seriousness of the crime. no-one wants to talk about it - especially the media - they turn things around to suit their needs anyway - my boy is not now - never was and never will be a threat to any child - like so many others wrapped up in this. but it is a slam dunk conviction for the prosecuters so they go after it with all the gusto they have. i am curious as well about the stats on this crime -i am thinking it is growing leaps and bounds.

Omg. This hurts my heart. These young men who r victims of the freakin internet. My prayers are for you who have these situations to deal with.

Personally I think it is that society has become so judgemental. I was one that thought that the justice system was fair and seldom make mistakes. I do not believe that anymore. Government makes laws on morality and if you want a real eye full look up the percentage of americans behind bars in this country .. With the new sex laws all it takes is an accusation to put you on the road to prison and the registry. Society needs a scape goat and they want it to be us , or family and friends.

i talk to everyone i know and tell them about my son's story i don't want to see this happen to anyone. trying to get my sons whole story but he's been locked up in county since the day of the arrest. what he tells me is there are a lot of kids delving into this - curiousity and shock mostly - one of the real shames is the lawyers paid or not don;t know how to defend against these charges - not being schooled in them. sending these boys up the river. it is a shame how many lives will never reach their potential because of this. please anyone that finds any news on arrests on young adults under 21 - let me know - thanks

Again the mass hysteria by the media creates more pain for families. When will this stop? Love, you need to read all the discussions and sign all petitions you can to help your son and many like him. Between the cp computer stuff and vindictive exes, this site is loaded down with them! This is election year folks! Let your reps know where you stand!

Hi I recently had my fiancee arrested for CP. He is an amazing man and it has devastated our lives. I have four children from a previous marriage. My ex is an officer and immediately called the police. Child welfare got involved. I didnt lose my children but my children have lost him. It has been awful. Like a death. He would never have harmed my children and people will never understand that. I do not understand how any of these men that are not distributing, not communicating to minors, not producing and not touching a minor can receive these sentences! It is baffling! Then be sent to prison and labeled and have their lives destroyed. In our situation we wont be able to marry until my kids are grown. They are given stiffer sentences federally then somes cases of manslaughter and molestation! I just dont understand.....I agree as well I have been reading non stop I want the interent providers to be held accountable for this! Why are these pictures and videos on the web? They are desroying families, lives!

For jackiecook - please share with your lawyer the following article. They should make the case that the guidelines for sentencing can be deviated from and have in the cases sited in this article. http://www.federalcriminallawcenter.com/CM/Articles/Changing-Landscape-of-Sentencing-Mitigation-In-Possession-of-Child-Pornography-cases.pdf It was posted in the Defense Lawyer "The Champion"., NACDL organization.

What we found in our case with the US Attorney, is that nobody on the law side, except the investigators, understands how file sharing websites work. We even had to walk our attorney through it before and during sentencing and then he used it on the prosecutor, and got the cop who testified at sentencing to agree with us. The prosecutor was trying to say that he was downloading on certain days, but in reality the software was doing the downloading every time Limewire started up, which was set up to start when the computer was turned on. It was actually pretty humorous to watch, but the reality is very sad.

Prosecutors don't care to know and their investigators aren't going to tell them what they know. They all just want to look like they are saving people from these terrible people that are downloading this junk. Most of the congressmen that are making the laws don't know how it works because they have never used it. And yet everyone wants to increase the punishment because it was on the internet. When I told my daughter's principal and counselor after sentencing what was going on, I'm pretty sure because of their reaction, they have both used Limewire and have had illegal files on their computer. They didn't blink an eye. In fact the counselor actually said, "I've used Limewire."

love2read and everyone else that posted here that has a loved one in prison for cp. You are NOT alone. My son was 21 when he was arrested for this crime. He spent a year in a federal detention center prior to his sentencing and I know he suffered from post tramatic stress disorder and there was nothing that we could do. Locked up in a room the size of a small two car garage, with all the noise he could never get any sleep.

As soon as my son joined a file sharing program he was arrested in two months.This also got him charged with distributing. He said he had no idea that a person could be arrested this way. My mind questions so many things, privacy laws, entrapment, etc.

Forfeiture! They wanted to take the condo that we bought him (and had just put his name on the title) as forfeiture as that is where the crime took place. What!! The crime took place on the computer. We had to negotiate and give them a large sum of funds and we were allowed then to sell the condo ourselves. It was like cleaning someone's house out that had died, because he was not coming back for NINE years! My heart goes out to everyone that got MORE time than my son. The ones that got less time, you are LUCKY!

I found other young people on prisontalk.com that were facing this same issue. I think there are MANY young people out there that are being charged with this and their lives and their families lives are being ruined.

Blessings to all dealing with this.
Faithflower

I don't mean to hijack the original message, but wanted to say one additional thing - for any federal cases the determination of where a person will be placed is established and for a SO related to CP, the guideline states that they will be in a low security facility. I would ask you lawyer during sentencing to recommend a minimum security. The judge may not do it, but it never hurts to ask.

I'm also new to this group. My son hasnt been charged by the Feds yet though. But we know it's coming. His story is so similar to yours. Pictures on his computer, file sharing software,etc etc. It breaks my heart because my son is 22, had a good management job, drives a new car...had the world by the tail. The media has so hyped up the story that I had to get him out of the town he lived in because we feared for his life. He changed his appearance so that people wouldnt recognize him after the media splattered his picture all over the news. Right now we are waiting for the other shoe to drop...waiting to see what the feds do, what they charge him with...its horrible. They grilled him and pressured him until he was suicidal and ended up in a psych ward. What has happened to this country? Why has this become such a witch hunt? Are there no terrorist for the feds to chase?? My heart breaks for each and every one of these young ppl that are being wrongly imprisoned. So many lives ruined because of the internet. Lets go after the ones uploading this to the internet, the ones that are producing this smut. I have lost all faith and hope in the justice system. Everyone here is in my prayers.

Welcome to our group. I am sorry we had to meet this way but I am thankful you have found this place of support. I am also in my 4th year of my son's 20 year sentence for CP. This group and this place saved my sanity and my life. Please keep coming and posting and sharing your feelings. It really does help you not feel so alone in this. As a mom, this is devastating to your very soul. We are here for you.
Laurie

Welcome to our group. I am sorry we had to meet this way but I am thankful you have found this place of support. I am also in my 4th year of my son's 20 year sentence for CP. This group and this place saved my sanity and my life. Please keep coming and posting and sharing your feelings. It really does help you not feel so alone in this. As a mom, this is devastating to your very soul. We are here for you.
Laurie

My son too, who is now 22 and in Federal prison for 30 months, 15 years probation and a lifetime on the sex offender list. . He used to do mass downloads of music videos thru limewire. They found 2 among the 2331 in downloads that he never saw, never opened and 9 that were partially downloaded and deleted. The first attorney agreed with the Feds and told me my son was guilty, and that he needed psych help. The next lawyer, David Seltzer, Miami is a cybercrime attorney. With him I paid for our own pschy evaluations, therapy (why they made him take therapy before his plea..guess he was guilty from the very beginning) and the stuff I treasure most,. . 2 sets of forensics. I did forensics twice ($2500 a pop) . The 2nd time to specifically look for a cp with a 3y.o. they said they found him downloading. That cp was never found, even with intense forensics..it was not on my son's computer.
I hold onto the forensics, and his confession. Both , together show a pictures of a young man scared to death, alone , confession to the ICE agents just so they would go away. . and the forensics disproves his small twisted with truth, confessions. It's plan to see.
Unfortunately the prosecutor and judge decided to put the forensics aside and made it all about his confession.