Fast pace technology and the World Wide Web have made access to any and all information as easy as a click away. The authenticity and legality of viewing these images often become a laughing matter; for even the most serious of cases. One such case is that of child pornography. Simply defined as the digital content in the form of images and videos that display explicit content featuring children of ages below 18 years in a way that their faces can clearly be identified. Pedophilia has been rampant for a long time in this world, the only difference in today’s age is that pedophiles have easier access to their desired content than ever before. All these things mean an extreme and blatant violation of children and their rights as citizens of a free state.
In the state of Virginia, any such person who possesses such explicit material, produces it or distributes it on the internet or otherwise is subject to child pornography charges. Any such act or crime is taken extremely seriously and the vigilance is such that even the accidental viewing or downloading of such content warrants a visit from the authorities. A first offence is charged with up to 5 years in jail along with a fine of 2500 dollars. Any offence after that is charged with 10 years in jail and another fine of 2500 dollars. Furthermore, if a person is found out to have a website that displays or distributes child pornography, they can be convicted for any time between 2 to 10 years along with a fine of a 100,000 dollars.
Furthermore, anyone who violates the strict laws of the state is subject to a number of years in a correctional facility where at least 5 years will be the minimum imprisonment sentence. Also, these mandatory minimum sentences are not only determined by the age of the child as well as the difference between the ages of the convict and the child and the sentence will have to be served in addition to any other charges that the person is convicted with. All these laws aim to not only teach a huge lesson to the pedophiles who possess and frequently use child pornography as a means of running their businesses and earning millions of dollars from others like them all around the globe but also aim to correct the mindset of these people and their approach towards life; correctional facilities playing a big role in this. Moreover, these laws also aim to intimidate any such individuals who are in the initial stages of committing these crimes and acts of violations. The threat of the authorities, fines and years of prison are many times enough to scare and discourage individuals who may be goaded into this trade by those already thriving in it.
For the state of Virginia, it is not only vital to punish any and all those individuals involved in these acts but also to nip these perpetrators in the bud to ensure the safety of children.