If you are facing child pornography charges in Florida, your first call should be to an Orlando child pornography defense attorney. In Florida, possession of child pornography is charged as a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 827.071, carrying up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines — per count. A recent Orlando case involving a Barry University law professor charged with 50 counts of unlawful possession shows just how fast these charges can multiply into a life sentence.
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What Florida Law Says About Child Pornography Charges
Florida Statute 847.001 defines child pornography broadly: any image, video, or digital file depicting a minor under 18 engaged in sexual conduct falls under Florida law. That includes actual or simulated acts, as well as the lewd exhibition of genitals. Law enforcement uses advanced digital forensics to identify these files across phones, computers, hard drives, and cloud storage accounts.
Each distinct image or depicted minor can be charged as a separate count. This is how a single device search can produce 50 individual charges — or more. Prosecutors in Central Florida typically pursue charges simultaneously under Florida Statute 827.071 and Florida Statute 847.001 to maximize a defendant’s exposure.
The statute does not require that you actively downloaded the material. If it existed on a device you controlled, you can be charged. That is why understanding the full scope of these charges — and acting quickly — is so critical from the moment you learn you are under investigation. If you’ve been charged, you need to talk to a child pornography defense attorney immediately.
Penalties for Child Pornography Charges in Florida
The penalties you face depend on how prosecutors classify the charges:
- Possession (third-degree felony): Up to 5 years in prison and $5,000 in fines per count
- Promotion or distribution (second-degree felony): Up to 15 years in prison per count
- Production or use of a child (first-degree felony): Up to 30 years in prison per count
Beyond prison and fines, any conviction triggers mandatory lifetime sex offender registration under Florida Statute 943.0435. Registration with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sex Offender Registry affects where you can live, work, and travel for the rest of your life — restricting housing, employment, internet access, and proximity to schools and parks.
When 50 counts of a third-degree felony are on the table, a defendant is theoretically exposed to 250 years in state prison. Even partial convictions on a fraction of those counts carry permanent, life-altering consequences. The time to act is before the state attorney’s office builds an airtight case against you.
- Possession (third-degree felony): Up to 5 years in prison and $5,000 in fines per count; lifetime sex offender registration (mandatory).
- Distribution/Promotion (second-degree felony): Up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines per count; lifetime sex offender registration (mandatory).
- Production or use of a child (first-degree felony): Up to 30 years in prison and $10,000 in fines per count; lifetime sex offender registration (mandatory).
How an Orlando Child Pornography Defense Attorney Can Help You
Hiring a child pornography defense attorney in Orlando immediately after your arrest gives you the opportunity of protecting your rights and your future. An experienced criminal defense team reviews every element of the state’s case — how the evidence was obtained, how the digital forensics were conducted, and whether law enforcement violated your constitutional rights at any point.
There are real, recognized defenses in these cases:
- Lack of knowledge: You were unaware the material existed on your device
- Unintentional possession: Files were automatically downloaded through malware, peer-to-peer software, or a shared network without your consent
- Fourth Amendment violations: Evidence was obtained without a valid search warrant or through an unlawful digital search
If law enforcement violated your rights when conducting the investigation, an attorney can move to suppress that evidence. Without it, the state’s case may not survive. Every favorable outcome starts with a thorough, aggressive review of exactly how the charges were built against you.
Call 407‑644‑2466 to speak with an Orlando child pornography defense attorney at the Rivas Law Firm, P.A. You can also schedule a free, confidential consultation with our criminal defense team in Central Florida today.
Frequently Asked Questions for a child pornography defense attorney:
What happens if I’m charged with possession of child pornography in Florida?
Possession of child pornography in Florida is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 827.071, carrying up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines for each count. A conviction also results in mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Contact an Orlando child pornography defense attorney immediately to understand your options and protect your rights.
Can I be convicted even if I didn’t intentionally download the files?
Yes — you can be charged even if you claim you were unaware the files were on your device. However, lack of knowledge and unintentional possession are recognized legal defenses in Florida. An experienced child pornography defense attorney in Orlando can investigate how the files ended up on your device and use that evidence to challenge the charges against you.
How can a defense attorney fight child pornography charges in Orlando?
A child pornography defense attorney may challenge the legality of the search warrant, dispute the reliability of the digital forensic evidence, or argue that you lacked knowing possession of the material. If law enforcement violated your Fourth Amendment rights during the investigation, critical evidence may be suppressed entirely. Every defense strategy must be tailored to the specific facts of your case — which is why retaining a skilled criminal defense team early is so important.
José Rivas has litigated thousands of criminal cases and frequently serves as a legal analyst for both local and national media networks. He is highly rated on professional platforms, maintaining a 4.9/5.0 rating on Avvo based on dozens of client reviews.
Call today if you need to talk to a child pornography defense attorney.
Full text of Florida Statute 827.071
827.071 Sexual performance by a child; child pornography; penalties.—
(1) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) “Child” or “minor” means any person, whose identity is known or unknown, younger than 18 years of age.
(b) “Child pornography” means:
1. Any image depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct; or
2. Any image that has been created, altered, adapted, or modified by electronic, mechanical, or other means, to portray an identifiable minor engaged in sexual conduct.
(c) “Deviate sexual intercourse” means sexual conduct between persons not married to each other consisting of contact between the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis, or the mouth and the vulva.
(d) “Female genitals” includes the labia minora, labia majora, clitoris, vulva, hymen, and vagina.
(e) “Identifiable minor” means a person:
1. Who was a minor at the time the image was created, altered, adapted, or modified, or whose image as a minor was used in the creating, altering, adapting, or modifying of the image; and
2. Who is recognizable as an actual person by the person’s face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark, or other recognizable feature.
The term may not be construed to require proof of the actual identity of the identifiable minor.
(f) “Intentionally view” means to deliberately, purposefully, and voluntarily view. Proof of intentional viewing requires establishing more than a single image, motion picture, exhibition, show, image, data, computer depiction, representation, or other presentation over any period of time.
(g) “Performance” means any play, motion picture, photograph, or dance or any other visual representation exhibited before an audience.
(h) “Promote” means to procure, manufacture, issue, sell, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, transmute, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, send, post, share, or advertise or to offer or agree to do the same.
(i) “Sadomasochistic abuse” means flagellation or torture by or upon a person, or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained, for the purpose of deriving sexual satisfaction from inflicting harm on another or receiving such harm oneself.
(j) “Sexual battery” means oral, anal, or female genital penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or female genital penetration of another by any other object; however, “sexual battery” does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose.
(k) “Sexual bestiality” means any sexual act between a person and an animal involving the sex organ of the one and the mouth, anus, or female genitals of the other.
(l)1. “Sexual conduct” means actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, or sadomasochistic abuse; actual or simulated lewd exhibition of the genitals; actual physical contact with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or, if such person is a female, breast, with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of either party; or any act or conduct which constitutes sexual battery or simulates that sexual battery is being or will be committed. A mother’s breastfeeding of her baby does not under any circumstance constitute “sexual conduct.”
2. As used in subparagraph 1., “actual or simulated lewd exhibition of the genitals” may be evidenced by the overall content of an image, taking into account the age of the minor depicted and, including, but not limited to, whether:
a. The focal point of the image is on the minor’s genitals;
b. The setting of the image is sexually suggestive or in a place or pose generally associated with sexual conduct;
c. The minor is depicted in an unnatural pose, or in inappropriate attire, considering the age of the minor;
d. The image suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual conduct; or
e. The image is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer.
(m) “Sexual performance” means any performance or part thereof which includes sexual conduct by a child.
(n) “Simulated” means the explicit depiction of conduct set forth in paragraph (l) which creates the appearance of such conduct and which exhibits any uncovered portion of the breasts, genitals, or buttocks.
(2) A person is guilty of the use of a child in a sexual performance if, knowing the character and content thereof, he or she employs, authorizes, or induces a child to engage in a sexual performance or, being a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of such child, consents to the participation by such child in a sexual performance. A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(3) A person is guilty of promoting a sexual performance by a child when, knowing the character and content thereof, he or she produces, directs, or promotes any performance which includes sexual conduct by a child. A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(4) It is unlawful for any person to possess with the intent to promote any photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, or other presentation which, in whole or in part, includes child pornography. The possession of three or more copies of such photograph, motion picture, representation, or presentation is prima facie evidence of an intent to promote. A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(5)(a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly solicit, possess, control, or intentionally view a photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, image, data, computer depiction, or other presentation which, in whole or in part, he or she knows to include child pornography. The solicitation, possession, control, or intentional viewing of each such photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, image, data, computer depiction, representation, or presentation is a separate offense. If such photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, image, data, computer depiction, or other presentation includes child pornography depicting more than one child, then each such child in each such photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, image, data, computer depiction, or other presentation that is knowingly solicited, possessed, controlled, or intentionally viewed is a separate offense. A person who violates this paragraph commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any material solicited, possessed, controlled, or intentionally viewed as part of a law enforcement investigation.
(6) Prosecution of a person for an offense under this section does not preclude prosecution of that person in this state for a violation of any other law of this state, including a law providing for greater penalties than prescribed in this section or any other crime punishing the sexual performance or the sexual exploitation of children.