Child Pornography: The Criminal-Justice-System Response

• NCJ Number: 201355
• Author(s): Eva J. Klain J.D.; Heather J. Davies M.S.; Molly A. Hicks M.P.A
• Date Published: March 2001
• Length: 168 pages
• Grant Number(s): 98-MC-CX-K002
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Ctr for Missing and Exploited Children
• Corporate Author: American Bar Assoc
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; American Bar Assoc
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded July 15, 2003

Annotation

This document examines the scope and nature of child pornography and then describes the criminal justice response to the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography.

Abstract

In order to mount an effective response to child pornography, it is important to understand the nature and scope of child pornography. The authors outline the problem of child pornography, including the various forms it can take. Despite increasingly tough laws and a criminal justice crackdown, child pornography remains an elusive crime to detect, due in part to the Internet. The report discusses sex offenders who exploit children, describing them as fitting into one of five categories: the closet collector, traders, isolated collectors, cottage collectors, and commercial collectors. Next, the report discusses the young victims of child pornography, examining the precipitating factors of child sexual exploitation, the link between pornography and prostitution, and how this type of victimization affects children and their families. Throughout the following two sections, Federal, State, and national laws and international treaties concerning child pornography are examined. In their legal analysis, the authors begin by discussing Federal child pornography statutes and other related Federal statutes, such as the Mann Act and the use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor. The criminal liability of parents and other caregivers is outlined, as are the criminal and civil sanctions at the Federal level. State laws governing child pornography are also reviewed and include a discussion of the juvenile court’s response and the State criminal laws that apply to these crimes. National laws and international treaties, conventions, and programs are the subject of the following section, which focuses on criminal justice responses to child pornography outside of the United States. Although most countries have laws against child pornography, those countries that are lax in enforcing such laws often become source countries for much of the world’s production and distribution of child pornography. The next three sections of the report focus on policy and practice initiatives in investigations of child pornography, model law enforcement responses, and general principles for effective interventions. The authors outline the use of special task forces, strike forces, and law enforcement networks as model responses to child pornography. Finally, a table reference of the United States' criminal statutes that address child pornography are offered.