Distribution of Child Pornography Conviction in California

33-year-old Peter Ruiz of San Bernardino has been sentenced to 25 years for the creation, production, and distribution of child pornography.  Ruiz filmed his abuse of three young boys living in his neighborhood and then traded and sold the images online.  When area law enforcement officials raided his computer this past Halloween, they found over 6,000 pornographic images of children in addition to approximately 600 videos of the same type.

Possession of child pornography may be considered either a misdemeanor or felony in California, depending on the particular circumstances of a client’s case (CA Penal Code, §311-312.7).  However, the federal government handled Ruiz’s case.   According to 18 USC, §2256, federal prosecution of child pornography cases is harsh to say the least.

Oftentimes, as in the case of Ruiz, when child pornography is found on a computer, a client will be charged, not only with possession, but also with distribution of these images due to the way that file sharing programs work.

San Jose child pornography attorneys believe that this kind of evidence is unreliable at best and could have even been the result of accidental file sharing or entrapment.  In fact,  child pornography cases are treated more seriously than the actual abuse of children. Each day, all around the country, children are being abused in their homes by neighbors, family friends, and family members.  However, little is done about these cases compared to the immense time and resources law enforcement agents spend in attempting to catch distributors and possessors of child pornography.