What can happen to you? What can you do?

The Illinois Child Pornography law prohibits the obscene use of children ranging from taking the photos to soliciting the models. But what if you came across the photos accidentally online?

Illinois law specifies that it is illegal to knowingly possess any “film, videotape, photograph or other similar reproduction or depiction by computer of any child” whom you reasonably should know was under age 18. (This offense also includes depictions of severely intellectually disabled adults.) Each separate photo or computer depiction can be charged as a separate offense.

You may have a defense if you reasonably believed the child in the image was over age 18 after you made diligent inquiry. Your possession of the images must also be voluntary. However, possession is considered voluntary if you had the image long enough that you could have terminated your possession.

If the computer image you possessed was a photo, you can be charged with a Class 3 felony, punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison. If the child was under age 13, the offense is upgraded to a Class 2 felony, punishable by 3 to 7 years. The offense is also a Class 2 felony if the images were a film or video.

Besides prison and fines, the Court may order you to register as a sex offender, which can bar you from many normal activities such as choosing where you live, who you visit or where you work.

If you are charged with child pornography, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. Do not make any statements to a third party or the police. An attorney can review your options and help you determine the best possible defense.

If you have questions about this or another related criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

See: Illinois Child Pornography Law.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post “I CLICKED ON THE WRONG SITE!”: THE ILLINOIS LAW ON CHILD CYBER-PORNOGRAPHY appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

You broke up with your girlfriend. You still had something you wanted to say. But she wouldn’t talk to you so you kept instant messaging her. Finally, you IMed that she better talk to you “or else.” Now you are charged with cyberstalking.

What is cyberstalking? What can happen to you? What can you do?

In Illinois, you can be charged with cyberstalking if you use electronic media to harass someone else on at least two separate occasions. Electronic media includes texts, emails and voice mails. You must also have knowingly and without lawful justification transmitted a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, confinement or sexual assault against that person or their family or you must have caused that person or their family to reasonably fear immediate or future harm.

And your stalking need not be one on one. It is still cyberstalking if you solicit someone else to do the harassment for you. Additionally, you can be charged if you knowingly and without legal justification maintain an internet page accessible to more than one person for at least 24 hours that 1) threatens someone, 2) causes them or their family to fear immediate or future harm or 3) solicits others to harm that person or their family.

Cyberstalking on a first offense is a Class 4 felony punishable by 1 to 4 years in prison. Further offenses are a Class 3 felony punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison.

If you are charged with cyberstalking, consult an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. Do not talk about your case with the police or third parties. Do not try to explain yourself. You may just end up digging yourself in deeper. What you think is justification might give the prosecution the evidence they need to convict you.

An experienced attorney can review your case to help you present the best possible defense. As with most criminal charges, the state must prove you guilty of all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Did you act knowingly? Were your actions without legal justification? Did your statements go beyond harassment? Was the victim’s fear of bodily harm reasonable? Was the internet page posted without your knowledge?

Even if the evidence against you is overwhelming, an experienced attorney who is respected at the courthouse may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

See: 720 ILCS 5/12-7.5: Cyberstalking.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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In Illinois, you commit computer fraud when you knowingly access a computer intending to defraud someone or take their money. This could be as simple as emailing a scam. Computer fraud can also be committed through destroying someone’s computer or altering or deleting their programs while intending to deceive or defraud someone.

If you accessed the computer as part of a scheme to defraud, you can be charged with a Class 4 felony, punishable by 1 to 3 years in jail. If you destroyed or deleted programs, you can face a Class 3 felony, punishable by 2 to 5 years in jail. Stealing money via computer is a Class 4 felony if you take less than $1,000, a Class 3 felony if you take $1,000 to $50,000 and a Class 2, punishable by 3 to 7 years, if you take more. The State may also seize your property. There is also a substantial risk of federal charges if interstate fraud is alleged.

If you are charged with computer fraud, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. Do not discuss your case with anyone in person or in cyberspace. Anything you post can be used as evidence against you.

An experienced criminal law attorney can evaluate your case in order to present the best possible defense. The computer fraud statute requires that the crime be committed knowingly and with intent to defraud. As with other crimes, the state must prove all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Perhaps you lacked the necessary intent to commit the crime. This is a relatively new area of law, and prosecutors may be reluctant to bring a case to trial when confronted with an aggressive defense.

If you have questions about this or another related criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

Source: 720 ILCS 5/17-50. See: Computer Fraud Statute.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post THE CRIME OF COMPUTER FRAUD IN ILLINOIS appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

You know it looks funny, but you really do have a legitimate explanation for visiting those sites. You are afraid if you say anything, however, you could still lose your job. You may even face criminal charges.

In Illinois, anyone who knowingly possesses any film, videotape, photograph or computer depiction of any child engaged in a sexual act, or in a “lewd exhibition of the unclothed or transparently clothed” private regions or partially or fully clothed female breast, is guilty of a Class 3 felony with a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 and a maximum fine of $100,000.

What can you do?

If you find yourself in this or a similar situation, you should consult an attorney immediately. An experienced attorney can evaluate your options and present your defense in the best light possible. Swift action on your attorney’s part may prevent you from losing your job and may even lessen the risk of criminal charges being brought.

Was the site truly indecent? The definition of obscenity can be somewhat vague. At one time, even birth control literature violated indecency laws. Maybe your employer is unduly sensitive and finds material that is legally acceptable to be offensive. Maybe you were unaware that you were in possession of these materials. Perhaps someone with access to your computer had visited these locations. Even if you knowingly visited the site and it does look bad, however, you might really have a legitimate and believable reason for visiting there.

Should you find yourself accused of accessing indecent materials, it is imperative that you not speak to anyone except your attorney about your case. Comments or emails to friends could come back to haunt you and could undermine any defense you may later choose to make. You should remove any Facebook or similar pages that might contain comments about your situation. If you have questions, feel free to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160. While my email address is matt@mattkeenanlaw.com, it may not be advisable to email in case your computer files should become subject to a search.

See our related school law blog at http://northshoreschoollaw.com.

The post “IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!”: WHEN VISITING AN INAPPROPRIATE WEBSITE CAUSES YOU TROUBLE appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

Or maybe, you think your steady looks fantastic, and you just were showing off. Or you thought if that special someone saw what they were missing, you might get that first date.

If you sent nude pictures via texting, there’s a new name for what you did: Sexting. Maybe sexting made you feel better about that girlfriend or proud of your steady for the moment. But the consequences of sexting, such as a conviction for child pornography, can follow you around for the rest of your life.

Concerned with the rising tide of sexting, prosecutors and school officials are looking to set examples, not without some reason. Some offenders have used sexting to solicit nude photos of young people. In one Ohio case, the sexting victim was harassed and committed suicide. Because of cases like these, the Illinois Attorney General has asked victims of sexting to call its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

But in the absence of laws tailored to this new technology, prosecutors are relying on the more severe child pornography laws even against defendants, who are themselves high school students. In Illinois, you may have committed a Class 1 felony if you 1) filmed, videotaped or photographed any one that you should have known was under the age of 18 in lewd exhibitions of nudity or 2) knowing the contents of those pictures, you distributed them, i.e. via texting.

If found guilty, you may face a prison term ranging from 15 to 30 years along with fines between $1,000 and $100,000 dollars for each offense. You may also land on the sex offender registry. As a student, you may be expelled. Today, more schools are disciplining students for offenses, even if the activity took place off school grounds. In this case, sexting technology can cause something that took place outside the school to enter the school’s domain.

Even if the victim is over the age of 18, you could still be charged for harassment or for an obscenity offense.

If you think you might be charged because of sexting, contact an attorney immediately. Don’t speak to anyone about your case because those statements could be used against you. Sometimes an attorney can even help prevent charges from being brought. Even if you are charged, your case may not be hopeless. You might reasonably have believed the victim was over the age of 18. You may not have been the one who sent the text. Maybe you forwarded something without knowing the contents. If you have questions about your situation, feel free to contact me at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com

The post BUT I JUST TEXTED: HOW SEXTING CAN GET YOU IN TROUBLE. appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.