Review of Sexual Exploitation Offenses, Penalties, and Defenses
Various forms of sexual exploitation can be very serious federal crimes. Both state and federal laws criminalize certain forms of sexual exploitation.
The perpetrator need not necessarily cross state lines or transport victims across state lines to face federal charges.
Under federal laws, sexual exploitation of children is a separate crime that includes the production of child pornography.
Anyone who attempts to induce, entice, or persuade a minor (under 18) to engage in a sexual act for pictures or videos can be found guilty of sexual exploitation, defined under 18 U.S.C. §2251.
Anyone could be federally prosecuted for sexual exploitation of children even if unlawful conduct occurred outside of the United States.
Still, the prosecutor would have to prove the perpetrator had the intent to send, or make available, the child pornography material to people inside this country.
The legal penalties for sexual exploitation under federal law are severe. The mandatory minimum sentence is 15 years if convicted, and the maximum is 30 years.
The exact punishments for child porn or sexual exploitation conviction will always defend on several factors and the calculation of the federal sentencing guidelines.
For example, the sentence will typically depend on how many images or videos you possessed or distributed, the age of the minor, and the type of sexual activity in the photos. There are also sentence enhancements if you have prior convictions.
Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will take a closer look at the federal laws below.
What is Sexual Exploitation?
Sexual exploitation has specific definitions under various federal and state laws and generally refers to a particular form of sex crime.
Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 2251, makes sexual exploitation of children a federal crime discussed below.
This statute defines different categories of conduct considered child sexual exploitation and lays out harsh punishments.
For example, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a)punishes any of the following illegal conduct:
- “anyone who employs, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or assist another person, or transports any minor in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, with the intent that the minor engage in, any sexually explicit conduct for producing any visual depiction of such conduct….”
The word exploitation implies the perpetrator's power or control over the victim, such as when an authoritative adult sexually abuses a child or vulnerable adult.
To exploit generally means to take undue advantage of a relationship or opportunity.
Sexual abusers who exploit authoritative relationships to commit sex abuse or other sex crimes can run afoul of state laws explicitly prohibiting sexual exploitation.
The Limited Reach of Federal Law
Sexual exploitation of adults is not in its name a federal crime. Federal law does not, for instance, criminalize all sexual exploitation of adults.
Nor does federal law criminalize all sexual exploitation of elderly, disabled, or otherwise vulnerable adults in the express way that several states do.
Instead, as noted above, federal law criminalizes sexual exploitation of children, not sexual exploitation of adults, as those several states do.
Protection of vulnerable adults through guardianship, conservatorship, probate, and other civil or quasi-criminal laws is generally the purview of state law.
The same is generally true for criminal laws against sexual exploitation of adults, left to state laws.
Types of Federal Sex Crimes
On the other hand, sexual exploitation can refer to a broad class or category for several federal sex crimes.
A perpetrator can face federal sex crime charges, including charges that federal prosecutors may refer to and label as forms of sexual exploitation, even if the federal statutes authorizing those charges don't use that specific phrase.
Any sex crime involves some manner or form of exploitation. Even if federal criminal law does not expressly prohibit sexual exploitation under that title or in that name, other than as to children, federal criminal law prohibits exploitative sex crimes.
Those federal sex crimes for which a defendant could face charges, looking very much like sexual exploitation, include:
- sexual abuse, prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 2242;
- aggravated sexual abuse, prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 2241;
- abusive sexual contact while in maritime, territorial, or prison jurisdiction, prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 2244;
- sexual abuse resulting in death, prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 2245(a)(1);
- kidnapping with the intent to commit a sexual-related crime;
- transfer obscene material to minors;
- solicitation of underage prostitution;
- female genital mutilation, prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 116; and
- multiple child sex crimes, including child pornography, exploitation, trafficking, and transporting for sexual activity.
Sexual Exploitation of Children
As noted above, sexual exploitation of children is most definitely a serious federal crime. Unlike sexual exploitation of children and adults, federal law does have a specific statute bearing that title.
The federal statute 18 U.S.C. 2251, bearing the title sexual exploitation of children, imposes a fifteen-year minimum sentence and a thirty-year maximum sentence for committing that crime.
The federal statute criminalizing the sexual exploitation of children is quite broad. At its core is a prohibition on producing child pornography.
In general, those who attempt to induce, entice, or persuade children to participate in making sexual videos, photographs, or other images commit the federal crime of child sexual exploitation.
But under 18 U.S.C. 2251, federal prosecutors can also bring federal criminal child sexual exploitation charges against a child's parent or guardian who knowingly allows another to produce visual sexual depictions involving the child.
A related statute 18 USC Section 2251A further criminalizes the sale or purchase of children for sexual activity.
This federal statute also penalizes anyone transporting a minor across state lines in a vehicle to film pornography.
Subsection (e) specifies that defendants be punished with anywhere from 15 years to life in prison, depending on their prior record and other aggravating factors.
Related Federal Crimes
Several states, including Tennessee, Utah, and Georgia, criminalize the sexual exploitation of vulnerable adults such as the elderly and disabled.
A person who sexually exploits a vulnerable adult could face state charges, even if not generally federal charges.
California is not among those states that expressly prohibits the sexual exploitation of adults.
However, California does have similar statutes at California Penal Code Sections 368 et seq. prohibiting physical abuse of elderly, dependent, and disabled adults.
Physical abuse of vulnerable adults would, in effect, include sexual abuse. So, a person sexually abusing a vulnerable adult in California could face state charges.
Defending Sexual Exploitation Offenses
Defending anyone charged with a federal sexual exploitation crime usually is complicated.
However, we may challenge the federal prosecutor's evidence on the crucial elements of the crime. For example, we may argue that the people depicted in the images are not minors under 18, as it's not always clear-cut.
Further, can closely review the evidence to determine if the images prove “sexually explicit conduct,” defined under federal law.
Another defense strategy includes getting assistance from experts in computer forensics who can help us determine if the government investigators properly conducted a computer search or other electronic devices to locate the alleged illegal evidence.
Perhaps the experts can prove the images on your computer were not knowingly possessed but instead inadvertently downloaded or promptly deleted.
In other words, maybe the child pornography images on your electronic devices were mistakenly downloaded.
If you are under investigation or already indicted for a federal exploitation offense, reach out to our law firm to review the case and legal options.
Eisner Gorin LLP is based in Los Angeles County and provides legal representation for people charged with a federal crime across the United States.
You can contact us for an initial consultation at (877) 781-1570 or fill out our contact form.
If you have one phone call from jail, call us! If you are facing criminal charges,