Possession of child pornography is considered a felony in the state of Virginia and comes with a set of serious charges for a convict. Any crimes and violations committed in relation to children are taken extremely seriously by the federal as well as state prosecutors who make sure any individual accused is thoroughly investigated and if found guilty then given appropriate prison time as well as a hefty fine.
Specifically, the charges against those defending the possession of child pornography are almost identical to those against people who are found guilty of possession because most of the times when individuals defend the possession of child pornography, it is because they themselves possess it or otherwise have a direct or indirect relation to its distribution.
Although possessing such images, videos and other digital content is a serious felony however, the state treats the production of child pornography to be a more serious offence because it is the producers of this content that are doing the most damage to the children. They are often also linked to kidnapping, child trafficking or furthermore even running a child brothel because it is with these children and such places where most of the content is filmed. The children most often have no idea what is happening to them and sometimes even willingly submits to the demands of the offenders in return for morsels of food and other prizes. Hence, this offence is treated more seriously and punishment and fines are decided accordingly.
In order to obtain a search warrant for these cases, authorities need solid evidence that the person possesses something questionable. In the cases of solid and threatening evidence the warrant is rendered unnecessary and the authorities can conduct a search without a warrant. However due to legalities of conducting a search without a warrant, the evidence that is found in these cases is most of the times illegal to use to build a case against the offender and hence authorities always aim to obtain a search warrant before conducting a search.
Furthermore, any individuals whose properties; homes and computers have been searched have to contact a solid legal time right away as well as refrain from making any comments related to the case to any individuals as their words may be used as evidence against them during trial. In many cases there are viruses and other bugs in seemingly innocent websites and apps that actually download pornographic data without the knowledge of the person using these websites and apps. That data can be stored in their computers, laptops, phones and other devices without them having any idea about it. If found guilty of possession they could face extreme legal backlash and hence need to contact the best attorneys and legal teams to fight their case and prove their innocence.
Although, in the cases the likes of detailed above, with sufficient evidence and the best legal advisors, the accused are able to get away but their lives are changed in permanent and quite drastic ways.