“The images . . . are composite images which were crudely prepared by cutting and pasting a photocopy of the head of a minor onto a photocopy of an adult female.”

Cut, Copy, and Paste Not Florida Porn Violation

“child pornography has been defined in the federal statutes to specifically include composite images.” See 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(C) (2008).”

Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney reports a decision of the Florida Court of Appeal where, “composite images which were crudely prepared by cutting and pasting a photocopy of the head of a minor onto a photocopy of an adult female.” do not constitute violation of the Florida Statutes. Section 827.071(5) proscribes the possession of child pornography, in pertinent part, as follows: It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess a photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, or other presentation which, in whole or in part, he or she knows to include any sexual conduct by a child. The possession of each such photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, or presentation is a separate offense.

“The images . . . are composite images which were crudely prepared by cutting and pasting a photocopy of the head of a minor onto a photocopy of an adult female.”

The court ruled “If the legislature had intended to proscribe the possession of composite images that simulate lewd and lascivious exhibition of the genitals, it could have included a provision doing so.  In fact, child pornography has been defined in the federal statutes to specifically include composite images.” See 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(C) (2008).

The Tribune reports, “The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 overturned a federal law that made computer-simulated child pornography illegal. The high court ruled that because the computer-generated depictions were not the product of the actual sexual abuse of children they were protected by the First Amendment.”

You can call Casey at (813) 222-2220 for a free phone consultation.