As a subset of the court martial defense practice, the Colorado attorneys at Aviso Law LLC represent service members accused of crimes involving child pornography. The military takes child pornography very seriously and those convicted of such crimes are often dealt with harshly. This area of the law can be difficult to work in due to the complexity of laws and technical issues that arise. Therefore, it is imperative that you seek the advice of an attorney experienced in handling child pornography cases in order to obtain the best possible result.
Child pornography violations entail creating, possessing and/or sharing videos or images of minors involved in sexual acts. This was always a serious crime. But, in recent years, the military has instituted changes to the laws that enable prosecutors to obtain a conviction much easier while increasing punishments. Primarily, these changes have attempted to align the military’s law with the federal law related to child pornography. Although Federal law had been used in the past to prosecute these types of cases, the military’s current law under Article 134, UCMJ related to child pornography now has substantial punishments and an expanded scope of child pornography offenses. Under the current law, there is no requirement that the individual depicted actually be a minor in order for the images to be considered child pornography. It is only required that the one accused be aware that the images appear to be minors. This makes it much easier for prosecutors to obtain a conviction as they do not have to meet the higher standard. The current law also has increased sentences for for child pornography offenses and added penalties, other than confinement, such as discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances. Therefore, service members face more convictions and much harsher punishments, making being involved in a child pornography crime a very serious matter.
Although it is not required that the prosecution show that the person in the images is actually a minor in order to solidify a conviction at court martial, they will do their best to prove this anyway. This type of evidence requires the use of experts in the field. The military attorneys at Aviso Law LLC work with a highly skilled team of experts in order to refute the evidence presented by the prosecution and present evidence of our own. Also, animation and digital modification of images and videos has become much more realistic over recent years. It has come to the point where one may not be able to tell the difference between actual, digitally modified (deep fakes) or animated images or videos. Whether the images or videos are in fact digitally modified or animated also requires the use of experts and can make a great difference in a child pornography court martial. Our attorneys are experts with this technology and in this area of law and will use this fact to our client’s advantage.
Child pornography cases require knowledgeable and committed court martial defense attorneys, as the prosecution is going to use everything it can to make their case and obtain a conviction. Therefore, you need an attorney that will do everything in his power to fight for an acquittal or reduced penalties. The attorneys at Aviso Law LLC represent military members of all ranks in all branches and will travel anywhere in the country or the world to defend you. Contact our Denver and Colorado Springs attorneys by calling (719) 247-3111 for a free consultation today.