The study, the results of which were presented to Congress in February, found that current sentencing guidelines may be outdated. Sentencing Commission Chair Patti Saris said in the report that "[c]hild pornography offenders engage in a variety of behaviors reflecting different degrees of culpability and sexual dangerousness." Such differences are not accounted for in the sentencing guidelines, Saris indicated.
The report recommended to Congress to amend its laws to distinguish various crimes according to their severity. It advised Congress to consider the type of sexual conduct displayed in the images, the ages of the victims and how involved the offender is in the child porn "community."
The Commission's report found that approximately one in four offenders engaged in file-sharing programs and communicate with other owners and distributors of child pornography. About one-third of convicted sex offenders have a previous history of engaging in illegal sexual acts or misconduct before being charged with a child pornography offense. Slightly under one-third of offenders are arrested again after being released from prison, which is on par with other federal offenders.
The study comes as an increasing number of judges have ignored sentencing guidelines, which can call for 15 to 40 years in jail for producing child pornography and five to 20 years for the distribution of such materials. According to the Commission, in 2011 judges followed the sentencing guidelines 33 percent of the time. When judges did not follow the guideline recommendations they generally issued lighter sentences. In 2004, 83 percent of judges followed the sentencing guidelines, the report noted.
Federal law enforcement agencies prosecute nearly 2,000 child pornography every year, up from 700 just 10 years ago. Officials attribute the increase to easier access to child pornography on the Internet.
Sex crimes
Few crimes carry the stigma of a sexual offense. However, the general attitude of the public does not mean that sex crime penalties should be arbitrary or excessive. People charged with the possession, production or distribution of child pornography should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect their rights and to potentially mitigate some of the harsh sentencing that can result from a sex crime conviction.
