The Law of Virginia shows no soft corner for child pornography material and all of its kind. Whether it is possession of child pornography, distribution of it, making t or even advertising of child pornography. The Virginia law is strict on the possession of child pornography as much as the distribution of it since the distribution is the most serious crime in child pornography laws. Keeping possession of child pornography will land you in serious problems. There are very few people who are allowed to keep the possession of child pornography but they are all for research basis, and that mostly includes the law enforcement agencies, the officers and the cops and the judges who are handling the case (if there is any case regarding child pornography going on).
According to the code of Virginia, if a person is found guilty for keeping possession of child pornography, then they might face:
- Any person who knowingly possesses any sexually explicit visual material utilizing or having as a subject a person less than 18 years of age shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. However, no prosecution for possession of material prohibited by this section shall lie where the prohibited material comes into the possession of the person charged from a law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement agency.
- The provisions of this section shall not apply to any such material which is possessed for a bona fide artistic, medical, scientific, educational, religious, governmental, judicial or other proper purpose by a physician, psychologist, sociologist, scientist, teacher, person pursuing bona fide studies or research, librarian, clergyman, attorney, judge, or other person having a proper interest in the material.
- All sexually explicit visual material which utilizes or has as a subject a person less than 18 years of age shall be subject to lawful seizure and forfeiture pursuant to 2-386.31.
- Any person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this section shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony.
Some top professional lawyers also say that the first offense might put the guilty person in jail for a maximum of 5 years instead of 1 and the fine will remain the same as mentioned above. And if it happens subsequently and continuously, then the charges may lead the convicted person to 10 years in jail maximum, and the fine will exceed $5,000.
You can avoid this situation by destroying the pictures as soon as you can and immediately contact the police or law enforcement agency. This will help you with your case better, and there might be leniency shown in the ongoing case or if there is any report made up before the case.