Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Lawyer Kansas City, MO

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Related Offenses in the Missouri Revised Statutes

Along with sexual exploitation of a minor, the Missouri Revised Statutes also include several related offenses that may support additional charges against someone who aided in the production of unlawful material. Here’s a closer look at these laws.

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

Sexual exploitation of a minor occurs when the accused creates either of the following:

• Obscene material with a minor
• Child sexual abuse material

Material is deemed obscene when it meets all three of the following elements:

• It predominantly appeals to prurient interest in sex
• An average person would find it a patently offensive depiction of sexual conduct
• A reasonable person would say it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

This definition clearly excludes legitimate materials, such as medical textbooks and nude art. Conversely, obscenity clearly includes pornography.

That said, many materials may fall into the gray area between these two extremes, and there’s no bright line to separate the artistic from the obscene. As a result, judging obscenity often comes down to the kind of evaluation summed up in the famous quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: “I know it when I see it.”

Child sexual abuse material, formerly called “child pornography,” is a narrower category. It includes any material that depicts a minor engaging in or observing sexual conduct, sexual contact, or a sexual performance. CSAM also includes any real or virtual visual depiction of a minor participating in sexually explicit conduct.

Sexual conduct includes actual and simulated sexual intercourse, masturbation, and deviate sexual intercourse, which encompasses any form of anal, oral, or object sex. Sexual conduct can also include physical touching of the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast for sexual stimulation or gratification. Finally, it includes sadomasochistic abuse for sexual purposes.

Sexual contact includes any of the following performed for sexual gratification or stimulation:

• Touching the genitals to another person
• Touching another person’s genitals, anus, or breast
• Causing semen to touch another person

Sexual performance in this context means an act of sexual conduct by a child under 18. Sexually explicit conduct means any of the following live or simulated acts:

• Sexual intercourse, including oral and anal sex, whether between people of the same or opposite sex
• Lascivious exhibition of the genitals
• Masturbation
• Sadistic or masochistic abuse
• Bestiality

Although these definitions are complex, they’re meant to work around the First Amendment, which restricts the kind of speech, images, and videos the government can criminalize.

Enabling Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

Enabling sexual exploitation occurs when a person or business negligently allows someone else to commit exploitation. This offense is intended to pressure businesses and workers from materially supporting or enabling the production of child pornography.

For example, a landlord could be held criminally liable if they suspect that one of their tenants is using a leased office to produce child sexual abuse material. Similarly, a software company might be criminally liable for allowing its online tools to be used to edit obscene videos involving minors.

Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Missouri law prohibits anyone from knowingly or recklessly possessing child sexual abuse material depicting a minor or someone who appears to be a minor.

This offense is a Class D felony for one image and a Class B felony for more than 20 images or at least one video. Moreover, prosecutors have the discretion to file a separate charge for each item. Therefore, five images and one video could result in six individual counts.

Possible Defenses Against Charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Kansas City, MO

The criminal defense strategies available in child pornography and sex crimes cases depend on the underlying facts. Your lawyer may employ one or more of the following defenses.

First Amendment

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution limits the scope of what can be considered obscenity. Under its free-speech provisions, the producer can’t be punished for anything with scientific or artistic value. Your defense attorney may argue that the material in question has some merit in its depiction of nudity or sexuality.

Fourth Amendment

The Constitution also requires investigators to obtain a warrant or limit their searches to warrantless scenarios. For example, an officer can search without a warrant by obtaining your permission or by looking only at what’s already in plain sight.

If the police discovered child sexual abuse material during an unlawful search, the court can block prosecutors from using it as evidence at trial.

Lack of Intent

Sexual exploitation requires intent. Specifically, prosecutors must prove that you had the knowledge or purpose to produce child sexual abuse material. If you asked a generative AI tool to produce visual art, but it generated obscene images instead, you probably lacked the intent to produce the illegal material.

In the same vein, imagine that you took a photo and only noticed later that there was a naked child in the background. Prosecutors would likely have trouble proving that you intended to exploit the child.

Potential Penalties for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Missouri

The punishment upon conviction for sexual exploitation or enabling sexual exploitation includes a prison sentence. A conviction for sexual exploitation of a minor is a Tier II offense that triggers mandatory sex offender registration for up to 25 years.

A judge will calculate the sentence for these offenses as follows:

Offense	Possible Prison Sentence
Sexual exploitation, child between 14 and 17	Five to 15 years
Sexual exploitation, child under 14	10 to 30 years
Enabling sexual exploitation, first offense	Up to four years
Enabling sexual exploitation, repeat offense	Up to seven years