As the internet has become more and more prevalent in our society, so have internet sex-related offenses.  People have thought of all sorts of different ways to either satisfy their interest in sex or to make money off sex crimes.

Whether it be sex trafficking, child pornography, or whatever other thing that somebody can think of, we've even moved into the realm of individuals who have videotaped their partners having sex with them and attempted to get revenge and posted those videos on the internet.  So, the law has had to cover that.

In other words, the police, the prosecutors, the judges, and the legislature have laws that are specifically designed to catch people who are involved in internet sex-related offenses.

Despite being a relatively new area of the law, the   authorities have developed sophisticated means to track individuals involved in internet sex crimes. This underscores the inevitability of legal consequences for such actions.

If you've been arrested and it looks like you're going to be charged or you've been charged with some sort of an internet sex-related crime, it's crucial to seek legal representation. With the right attorney, you can navigate these serious charges and work towards a favorable resolution.

Human Trafficking – California Penal Code 236.1

For example, sex trafficking, commonly known as human trafficking under California Penal Code 236.1 (CALCRIM 1243), where people use the internet and various other platforms to either traffic under-age girls or over-age women to buyers who are attempting to have sex with these women.

These are the types of offenses that the police in law enforcement and even judges are on guard to punish very severely with state prison, sex registration under California Penal Code 290, and whatever else it can think of that makes sense in trying to stamp out sex trafficking-related offenses.

Revenge Porn – California Penal Code 647(j)(4)

Also, revenge videos that people are putting on the internet of their girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife in order to embarrass them are being prosecuted at a record rate under the classification of revenge warrant.  This is known as “revenge porn” described under California Penal Code 647(j)(4).

So, the internet crimes that are out there — like, for example, people who are going into chat rooms and trying to lure underage individuals into having sex with them — don't realize that law enforcement has infiltrated the internet.  They're posing in chat rooms as young children.

They're putting ads on Craig's List to try to catch people who are involved in trying to get sex for money.  They're posing as John's in prostitution-sting operations on the internet.  The list just goes on and on and on.

So, if you've been caught up in this web, you immediately have to protect yourself and do damage control and see if you have a defense, and obviously retain an attorney to employ that defense for you, even if you do not have a defense to the crime and they've got the goods on you, there's so many different things that could happen to you.

The only thing that is going to make a difference is your advocate — your attorney, who you hired to defend you.  That attorney can do a number of things — file certain motions that might be relevant to your case and certainly bring to the attention of the prosecutor and judge mitigating circumstances surrounding you and your particular case.

So, if you've been charged with an internet sex-related offense, pick up the phone.  Call the Hedding Law Firm.  I'm happy to meet with you.  We can discuss everything, look at what your best options are, and get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.