Federal Sexual Exploitation

18 USC §2251
Sexual exploitation of children
This crime makes many sexual behaviors illegal that involve the sexual exploitation of children:
It is illegal to knowingly persuade a minor to engage in or assist another to engage in sexually explicit conduct that takes place in the United States, and also to employ or transport a minor for the purpose of engaging in any sexually explicit conduct that takes place in the United States, all for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that sexually explicit activity that is or will be transported through interstate or international commerce.

It is illegal for parents or guardians to allow the activities in Section A (above) to occur to children for which they are responsible.

Even if the sexually explicit conduct takes place outside of the United States, it is illegal under this law if the resulting visual depiction is or will be transported into the United States.

It is illegal to knowingly print or publish any advertisement seeking, or offering to receive or create, a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the purpose of creating a visual depiction, if the offender knows or has reason to know that the visual depiction is or will be transported through interstate or international commerce.

Punishments for sexual exploitation of children:
All of the above criminal behaviors will be punished as follows:
People who are found guilty who have no prior similar sex crime convictions will be fined and imprisoned for 15 to 30 years.
People who are found guilty who have one prior similar sex crime conviction will be fined and imprisoned for 25 to 50 years.
People who are found guilty who have two prior similar sex crime convictions will be fined and imprisoned for 35 years to life.
If a death occurs as a result of any of the above criminal behavior, the defendant who is found guilty will be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison or the death penalty.
If it is an organization, and not a person, who violates the above sections, the organization will be fined.

18 USC §2251A
Selling or buying of children
It is illegal for a parent or guardian in the United States to sell or offer to sell his or her child, or transfer his or her parental rights of the child, with knowledge that the sale or transfer will result in or promote the child engaging in sexually explicit conduct or assisting another to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of that conduct. A parent or guardian who does this and is found guilty will be fined and sent to prison for at least 30 years.

It is illegal in the United States to buy or obtain custody of a child with knowledge that the sale or transfer will result in or promote the child engaging in sexually explicit conduct or assisting another to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of that conduct. A person who is found guilty of this will be fined and sent to prison for at least 30 years.

18 USC §2252
Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors
It is illegal to knowingly use interstate or foreign commerce to transport, ship, receive, or distribute a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or to knowingly sell or possess with intent to sell any visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A person with no prior similar sex crime convictions who is found guilty of violating, attempting to violate, or conspiring to violate this will be fined and imprisoned for 5 to 20 years, while a person with a prior similar sex crime conviction will be fined and imprisoned for 15 to 40 years.

It is also illegal to knowingly possess, or knowingly access with the intent to view, one or more books, magazines, film, or other materials that contain a visual depiction of a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A person with no prior similar sex crime convictions who is found guilty of violating, attempting to violate, or conspiring to violate this will be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both, while a person with a prior similar sex crime conviction will be fined and imprisoned for 10 to 20 years. However, a defendant can get his or her case dismissed under this law if he or she possessed less than 3 such visual depictions, promptly notified law enforcement of this fact, and then takes reasonable steps to destroy those visual depictions.

18 USC §2252A
Certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography
This crime makes many types of criminal behavior involving child pornography illegal:
1) Knowingly mailing, transporting, or shipping child pornography that has traveled through interstate or international commerce
2) Knowingly receiving or distributing child pornography that has traveled through interstate or international commerce
3) Knowingly reproducing child pornography for distribution through interstate or international commerce, or advertising or soliciting any material that contains or purportedly contains either an obscene visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct or a visual depiction of an actual minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct
4) Knowingly selling or possessing with the intent to sell any child pornography through interstate or international commerce
5) Knowingly possessing or accessing with the intent to view any book, magazine, or file that contains an image of child pornography
6) Knowingly distributing to a minor any visual depiction of what is or appears to be of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, that has been mailed or produced using interstate or international commerce, for the purpose of inducing or persuading a minor to participate in any illegal activity
7) Knowingly producing with intent to distribute or knowingly distributing child pornography through interstate or foreign commerce that is an adapted or modified depiction of an identifiable minor

for numbers 1, 2, 3, and 6 (above) include fines and 5 to 20 years in prison for a first offender and fines and 15 to 40 years in prison for a second offender. Punishments for number 5 (above) are fines, up to 10 years in prison, or both for first offenders and fines and 10 to 20 years in prison for a second offender. Punishments for number 7 (above) are fines, up to 15 years in prison, or both. There are some affirmative defenses that the defendant can raise if he or she meets certain requirements.

18 USC §2252B
Misleading domain names in the Internet
It is illegal to knowingly use a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material that is considered obscenity. This crime carries punishments of imprisonment for up to 2 years, fines, or both.

It is also illegal to knowingly use a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing online material that is harmful to minors. If found guilty, this crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years, fines, or both.

18 USC §2252C
Misleading words or digital images on the Internet
It is a federal sex crime to knowingly embed words or images into the code of a website with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material that is considered obscenity. Potential punishments include fines and prison for up to 10 years.

It is also a federal sex crime to knowingly embed words or images into the code of a website with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing online material that is harmful to minors. People found guilty of this will be fined and sent to prison for up to 20 years.

18 USC §2258
Failure to report child abuse
Certain people—such as teachers and doctors—are mandatory reporters, which means when they learn of facts that give them reasonable suspicion that child abuse has occurred, they must notify the proper authorities. If such a person learns of these facts while on federal land or in a federal facility, and fails to report the facts to the authorities, they are guilty of this federal crime and will be fined, imprisoned for up to 1 year, or both.

18 USC §2260
Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States
It is illegal to use a minor to engage in or assist another person to engage in, or to transport a minor to engage in, sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct or for transmitting live feed of the content, with the intent that the visual depiction will be imported or transmitted into the United States. Punishments for people who have no prior similar sex crime convictions are fines and imprisonment for 15 to 30 years. Punishments for people who have one prior similar sex include fines and imprisonment for 25 to 50 years, and for people with two prior similar sex crime convictions, imprisonment for 35 years to life.

It is also illegal for a person outside of the United States to knowingly receive, transport, distribute, or possess with the intent to transport or distribute, any visual depiction of an actual minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, if the person intends for the visual depiction to be imported into the United States. People who are found guilty will be fined and imprisoned for 5 to 20 years, but if they have a prior similar sex crime conviction on their record, they will be fined and imprisoned for 15 to 40 years.

18 USC §2260A
Penalties for registered sex offenders
People who commit federal sex crimes requiring them to register as sex offenders will receive 10 extra years in prison if their felony involved a minor.