Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A former Friends’ Central camp counselor was recently indicted on charges of distributing child pornography. The defendant was under FBI investigation for three months prior to being arrested earlier this month. The FBI used an undercover agent, posing as the mother of a thirteen year old girl, as part of their investigation. In the complaint, it is alleged that the defendant told the agent he had aspirations of becoming a teacher and that his being around little girls would be a “fringe benefit”.

The defendant allegedly told authorities that he began looking and naked pictures of underage girls a few years ago and would use chat rooms to meet people with similar interests. He would allegedly trade pictures with the people he met online as well. The complaint further alleges that when he was 18-years old, he touched a child as he was helping her change into her swimsuit; he described the touching as “a great feel”. Authorities claim to have found over 100 images of child pornography on the defendant’s computer; the girls ranging in age from five to thirteen.

He has been held without bail since his arrest earlier this month. If convicted on the most serious counts of child pornography, he faces a mandatory five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of twenty years.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, Making, and Distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making, or distributing child pornography, the Law Offices of Marc Neff can help. There are defenses which are available to you. Contact the Law Offices of Marc Neff immediately.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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Jeffrey Marsalis, convicted on two-counts of sexual assault by a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas judge last year and sentenced to 10 ½ to 21 years in prison, has been removed from the Forest County Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania and extradited to Blaine County, Idaho to face a third rape trial. Marsalis lived in Philadelphia between 2003 and 2005 where he attended Drexel University. Authorities alleged that during that period, Marsalis drugged and sexually assaulted at least 10 women; most of whom he met through the internet dating site “match.com”. At trial, seven women testified against Marsalis, claiming that Marsalis would pretend to be a doctor or an astronaut. His former fiancée also testified that Marsalis had duped her by claiming to be a CIA agent. The jury convicted him on two counts of sexual assault.

Marsalis now is accused of raping a woman who worked with him at a ski resort in Idaho. Marsalis worked as a security guard and allegedly committed the October 2005 rape in the employee dorm of the resort. Marsalis fought the extradition proceedings against him, but lost at a hearing last month in Idaho. He will now face his third jury trial for rape within the next 180-days, said Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim J. Thomas. He will remain in a Blaine County, Idaho jail until his trial commences.

Extradition

Extradition, or rendition as it is commonly referred to when dealing between different states, is the process by which one nation or state requests the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal from another nation or state, to face prosecution for crimes committed in their jurisdiction. There are laws which govern the process of extradition. Criminal laws often differ slightly between states, and differ greatly between nations; extradition between nations is governed by treaty. Extradition is a complicated area of law, requiring the expertise of an experienced and competent criminal defense attorney.

For a confidential consultation, contact the Law Offices of Marc Neff immediately via telephone at (215) 563-9800 or e-mail Marc@nefflawoffices.com. We will assist you through your extradition proceedings, as well as all other aspects of your defense.

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Posted In: International Criminal Law and Extradition , Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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Seven hours was all it took for a jury to acquit singer R. Kelly of 14-counts of child pornography, a verdict six-years in the making. Kelly was accused of videotaping a sexual encounter with a female who allegedly was 13-years old at the time. Both Kelly and the now 23-year old victim each denied their alleged participation in the video. Defense attorneys also argued that the man in the video did not have a mole on his back, a feature their client in fact did have.

Neither Kelly nor the alleged victim testified during the month-long trial. Relatives of the alleged victim gave conflicting testimony as to whether the female on the tape was in fact who prosecutors claimed she was. The prosecution’s star witness was a woman who claimed to have participated in three-way sex with both Kelly and the alleged victim; however defense attorneys were able to paint the witness as incredible. Kelly’s attorneys proved to the jury that the witness was an extortionist, threatening R. Kelly with her testimony unless he paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars. Attorneys also claimed that the witness stole their client’s $20,000 wrist-watch.

R. Kelly faced 15-years in prison if convicted on all counts of child pornography. Jury deliberations began on Thursday afternoon last week and continued Friday morning until a verdict was finally reached. One juror told the press, following the verdict, that the jury was split just hours before the verdict. In the end, the jury determined that there was just not enough evidence to prove that R. Kelly and the alleged victim were in fact in the video.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, Making, and Distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making, or distributing child pornography, the Law Offices of Marc Neff can help. There are defenses which are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Marc Neff immediately.

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Pennsylvania State Police are dealing with a growing problem in today’s society; teens taking pictures of themselves or others involved in sexual acts and transmitting the images to friends via cell phone. The problem has become so extensive that schools have asked for help from the State Police Cyber Crimes Division. Troopers have been dispatched to assist in the finding and destruction of cell phone images at many Pennsylvania school districts, and according to State Trooper Paul Iannace, the problem is draining the division’s already limited resources.

The problem exists not only in Pennsylvania, but nationwide. Last month, a seventeen-year old was arrested in Wisconsin for possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, and defamation, after he posted nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend onto Myspace from his cell phone. Pennsylvania State Troopers were dispatched to the Parkland School District, near Allentown, Pennsylvania, to remove video and images of two underage girls from nearly forty student-cell phones. In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, troopers showed no lenience when they arrested a fifteen-year old girl in 2004 for posting nude pictures of herself on the internet.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, Making, and Distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making, or distributing child pornography, a Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorney can help. There are defenses which are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact a Pennsylvania Criminal defense Attorney immediately.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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The Michigan State Senate took testimony regarding a bill which if passed, would require computer technicians to report any child pornography they find on a client’s computer. According to a Michigan news source, the bill will be introduced along with testimony from Dan Tomaszewski, whose Georgetown Township-based Computer House Calls reported child pornography found last year on a client’s computer, despite there not being a law requiring such action.

Although there are no Michigan laws requiring computer technicians to report child pornography they find on client’s computers, laws are currently in place to provide legal protection to the technicians should they decide to do so. The proposed law would not allow technicians to actively search for child pornography on a client’s computer, but would require them to report child pornography found within the scope of their employment.

Opposition will likely come from those who feel the bill is an invasion of privacy, as did when South Carolina passed a similar law in 2001. Michigan Senator Wayne Kuipers, who is proposing the bill, argues that the bill will act as an additional tool for law enforcement, which currently has trouble finding those in possession of illegal child pornography. To date, similar laws have been passed in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photography, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, making and distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making, or distributing child pornography, a Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorney can help. There are defenses which are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact us immediately.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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A Delaware County, Pennsylvania man is challenging his conviction of “sexual abuse of children by possession and control of child pornography” by disputing the criminal statute’s definition (or lack there of ) of “control”. Anthony Diodoro admittingly viewed thirty images of child pornography on his computer, but argued that he did not save the images to the hard-drive and therefore neither possessed, nor controlled the images. Rather, the files were discovered in Mr. Diodoro’s web browser’s cache file, where files are automatically saved. Mr. Diodoro was unaware that the files were saved to the cashe.

The Pennsylvania state criminal statute relevant to child pornography is violated when a person produces, distributes, possesses, or controls sexually explicit images of children. The statute, however, does not define the terms “control” and “possess”. Justice Baer compared the scenario to a hypothetical in which a person visits an adult bookstore or has material sent to his home. Justice Eakin considered whether Mr. Diodoro’s having the opportunity to change the size of pictures on his screen demonstrated control.

The defense has argued that the statute should be voided for vagueness. The statute’s use of undefined terms does not give a person notice of what is considered criminal.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between person of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, making and distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making or distributing child pornography, the Law Offices of Marc Neff can help. There are defenses which are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Marc Neff immediately.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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An anonymous defendant successfully challenged Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law statute and was found not to be subject to its community notification provision. The man, convicted of sexually assaulting an eleven year-old girl in New Jersey, was sentenced to five years probation and parole supervision for life. In the sentencing report, the judge found defendant was unlikely to repeat such offense and that this incident was likely the result of intoxication.

The man chose to serve his sentence in Pennsylvania in accordance with the Interstate Compact concerning Parole and Probation, which allows a person, upon approval, to serve a probation or parole sentence in a state other than where the crime was committed. Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law requires that only sex offenders convicted in Pennsylvania that are found to pose a risk of repeat offense be subject to the community notification provision. However, all sex offenders transferring their sentence from out-of-state are subject to community notification.

The Third Circuit, Court of Appeals, accepted defendant’s argument that this contradiction in Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law violated the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. Had the same crime occurred in Pennsylvania, defendant would not have been subject to community notification. Therefore, subjecting the man to community notification simply because he transferred his sentence from New Jersey did not promote any legitimate state interest and violated the man’s constitutional rights.

Sex Crimes

Sex Crimes are serious matters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as throughout the United States. These crimes carry harsh penalties. In addition to prison sentences a convicted offender may be subject to “Megan’s Law”, which is intended to “protect the safety and general welfare of the people of this Commonwealth by providing for registration and community notification regarding sexually violent predators who are about to be released from custody and will live in or near their neighborhood”.

Sex Offenses in Pennsylvania are serious crimes which carry many substantial penalties if you are convicted. An experienced Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorney should defend you against these charges.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes & Abuse Allegations

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