Cyber Sex Crimes & Pornography Attorneys in Columbus

The internet opens the door to cyber sex crimes and pornography, with children and teenagers often being easy prey. However, while cracking down on sexual predators, authorities also use technology to gather evidence for prosecution. Being on the wrong end of cyber sex crime or pornography allegations has devastating consequences if convicted under state or federal laws. Our sex crime attorneys in Columbus, Ohio at Yavitch & Palmer are highly experienced in defending clients’ rights in cyber sex crimes, especially when falsely accused.

Child abuse, child pornography, and the internet

Child abuse is a broad legal area that encompasses physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment of a child and is primarily regulated at the state and local levels. However, child pornography, which today exploits children expansively through the internet, reaches across state lines and globally, involving international child porn rings.

Child porn rings use a variety of methods to gather and conceal child pornography. One international ring required members to post photos on a secure internet message board. Another international ring downloaded material from a central server, and members often used internet cafes to conceal their locations.

While sex offenders get creative in covering their tracks, the FBI and other authorities become creative in following their trails, often busting alleged offenders in various U.S. states at the same time along with their international connections. A collaborative effort between federal, postal, immigration, overseas, and state and local police may go on for several years until authorities believe they have all the parties involved in a particular network.

Some of the most recent types of cyber crimes are termed sextortion and sexting. Sexting is sending explicitly sexual messages or images between phones or devices. For example, teens sometimes send naked photos to boyfriends or girlfriends. Predators who get a hold of such photos can blackmail the teen (sextortion), using it for pornography extortion by threatening to show images to parents, school principals, or the police.

Ways to protect your child in the social networking world

Parents today are looking for ways to protect their children on the web. Based on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) advisory, our sex crime lawyers in Columbus suggest the following:

• Dialogues between parents and children about safe internet use
• Parental supervision of online activities
• Make internet use a family activity
• Encourage critical thinking skills in your children
• Set reasonable rules for going online
• Encourage your children to tell you about online problems

Seeking legal advice from a Ohio criminal attorney at Yavitch & Palmer can help you understand your rights when accused of pornography or cyber sex crimes. Call our firm at 614-224-6142 or fill out the web contact form to arrange a consultation.