Child pornography is a grave crime in Oklahoma involving a minor engaged in obscene behavior. The Oklahoma and federal laws aim to protect kids from being exploited sexually. The US government state legislature considers anything child pornography that depicts individuals below 18 years engaged in sexual behavior. As per the child pornography laws in Oklahoma, being accused of possessing and observing pornographic material involving minors you can face severe punishment and jail time.
In this article by the Congdon-Law team, we’ll be covering the entire child pornography laws in Oklahoma.
Child Pornography Laws in Oklahoma: Overview
Under the child pornography laws in Oklahoma, child pornography can be any kind of graphic representation of children under the age of 18 years engaging in sexual activities, sadomasochism, sodomy, and others.
The criminal code consists of state statutes, with Title 21 containing several regulations regarding child pornography’s production, distribution, and possession.
As per section 1024.1, child pornography refers to an individual image or a graphic representation of an individual under the age of 18 years involved in explicit sexual behavior with someone who is not their spouse.
Some of the prohibited activities in Oklahoma include:
- Perverted or normal intercourse
- Oral sex
- Bondage or S&M
- Anal sodomy
- Bestiality
- Ejaculation
- Defecation or urination in the sexual context
- Images of exposed breasts, genitals, or buttocks of an underaged individual and presentation of the child to stimulate the viewers sexually.
It is possible to store and possess child pornography in multiple formats. The accused may save data such as negatives, films, photos, videos, live performances, or photo reproductions on their smartphones, computers, tablets, etc., in the form of files. The state of Oklahoma has several laws covering child pornography.
Child Pornography Laws in Oklahoma: What Does the Laws Criminalize?
The purposeful creation of child pornography is a grave crime. It is also a crime to counsel, obtain, or aid any underaged individual in exposing themselves. Additionally, building an exhibition of that individual, exposed to the public eye, to stimulate the viewers sexually is against the child pornography laws in Oklahoma.
Child pornographic creation also comprises photographing, painting, writing, copying, printing, drawing, composing, engraving, designing, molding, engraving, or any other pornography preparation. It also comprises digital and physical mediums. Hence, possessing and downloading photographic material from or to your digital device like a tablet, computer, or smartphone breaches the law.
Similarly, the distribution or sale of child pornographic or obscene material is unlawful. The crime is a punishable felony, and the accused must either pay a fine of $500 – $20K or get a jail time ranging from 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) to a decade, or both.
According to section 1024.2, buying, possessing, or acquiring child pornography is illegal. Those possessing one photograph depicting a minor engaged in sexual activity can face a 5-year imprisonment with up to a $5K fine. Similar to the child pornography laws in Pennsylvania, the state of Oklahoma is strict about its laws.
Every image will count as an individual offense, including every copy of a single image. For instance, an individual possessing an image on the computer, in printed form, and a cell phone will count as possession of three individual items consisting of child pornography.
Additionally, Oklahoma child pornography laws consider it a serious crime to include a minor below 18 years in child pornography production. Such an act may entail seeking a child to achieve this goal or impelling or helping a child to get involved in such activities. This is a punishable crime with an imprisonment sentence of a minimum of 10 years.
In cases where the child involved is below 12 years old during production, the accused can face an imprisonment sentence of up to 25 years.
According to the Oklahoma statutes’ title 21, section 1021.2, including or causing the participation of a minor in child pornography production or purposefully selling, distributing, obtaining, or possessing sexually explicit images or writings of juveniles is punishable. This statute orders the maximum imprisonment of 20 years or a fine of up to $25K.
Child Pornography Laws in Oklahoma: Aggravated Possession Laws
Aggravated possession of material depicting sexual exploitation of minors is also punishable if a person possesses 10 or more individual material showing child pornography. Each copy of the same material, such as images, will count as individual items per the definition given by Oklahoma statutes’ title 21 section of 1040.1a.
If found guilty under this section, you can face life imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $10K, or both. Many of these crimes are called felonies, with many being unqualified for deferred sentences. Hence, you cannot avoid this conviction and will have to spend your life in jail.
Moreover, these also fall under sex crimes and require convicted individuals to get their names added to the list of sex offenders. Such consequences follow the accused for a lifetime, even after getting discharged. Note that these crimes are severe in Oklahoma state, and those facing charges must get critical help.
Child Pornography Laws in Oklahoma: Additional Details
There are a few other things to learn about the child pornography laws in Oklahoma. Essentially, the law does not count as a legal defense if the minor or the guardian/parents of the minor offer consent for child pornography.
If a parent gives consent for the involvement of the child in pornographic activities, it is a punishable felony with a maximum 20-year imprisonment, up to a $25K fine, or both. It falls under section 1021.3 of Title 21 of Oklahoma statutes.
The statute uses the term “knowingly” to define that the accused was aware of the character and nature of the pornography’s materials. This is because the defendant may be unaware of the exact material or have not seen or read the involved content.
Failure to report pornography with a minor within 36 hours (about 1 and a half days) after discovery is a punishable misdemeanor with a year in the county prison, a fine of around $500, or both according to section 1021.4 of Title 21 or Oklahoma statutes.
Purposefully posing or photographing an individual for sexually explicit content is unlawful, regardless of the involvement of children. Sales, exhibitions, distribution, or unrequested mailing is also a crime. This act is punishable with a year’s imprisonment in the county prison, a $2K fine, or both.
Conclusion:
The state of Oklahoma charges an individual with child pornography for possessing, producing, or distributing sexually explicit material involving minors below 18 years of age. Various sections in Title 21 under Oklahoma statutes define various felonies and penalties for those accused. However, several possible defense options are available for the charged persons with serious help.
