Is someone you know being investigated for child pornography charges? If so, the criminal attorneys at Brandt Kettwick Defense represent people facing child pornography allegations throughout Minnesota. With more than90 years of combined experience, our law firm understands the legal and technical issues involved in these cases.
We understand the serious personal and professional consequences these allegations can create for people under investigation or already facing charges. Our attorneys take a strategic and proactive approach to child pornography cases and work carefully to develop defense strategies tailored to each situation.
That strategy may include working with computer forensic experts, examining search warrants and investigative methods, and identifying ways to reduce potential consequences. Early legal representation can help protect a person’s rights and defense options while an investigation is ongoing.
If you need a child pornography defense lawyer, call our law firm today to discuss your options and how we can help build a strong defense.
Child pornography investigations often begin online and may involve subpoenas, search warrants, and digital forensic investigations. These cases frequently involve complicated electronic evidence and detailed legal issues, making experienced legal representation important early in the process.
Minnesota law focuses on how content is created, shared, and possessed. In short, child pornography charges can include:
These laws are detailed and technical, especially when they’re applied to digital files and online activity. For example, “pornographic work” involving minors has a specific legal meaning. The statute defines it broadly to include visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexual conduct, whether the image is real or altered, and the term “minor” refers to any person under the age of 18. These definitions are the foundation for what the state must prove — and how a defense attorney at our law firm can challenge the case.
Minnesota law primarily focuses on visual depictions, such as images and videos. However, what qualifies as prohibited content can go beyond straightforward photographs or recordings. Edited, computer-generated, or otherwise manipulated images may still fall within the statutory definition if they depict a minor in a sexual context and can be a separate crime in and of itself.
Intent and knowledge are key. The state must prove that you:
That distinction can be critical when automatic downloads, cached files, or shared devices are involved. A file’s mere presence doesn’t automatically mean you had awareness or control over it.
At Brandt Kettwick Defense, our attorneys use more than 90 years of combined experience to challenge the state’s evidence, examine investigative methods, and identify potential defenses in complex criminal cases. Our law firm has experience representing people facing serious allegations involving digital evidence and internet-related investigations. Contact our law firm to schedule a confidential consultation.
A conviction for a child pornography crime carries consequences that can follow you for life. Many of these consequences apply automatically under state law. These restrictions affect your day-to-day life, not just the court case or your possible prison term — and they serve as another reason you need an experienced attorney on your side.
One of the most significant consequences is the requirement to register as a sex offender. Registration can last for 10 years all the way up to a lifetime , depending on the specific crime and your record. The requirements are strict and ongoing:
Courts often sentence people to probation or conditional release terms that restrict their internet use, device ownership, and contact with certain people. Violating these conditions can result in additional penalties, including incarceration.
Getting and keeping a job is also harder after a conviction. Many employers run background checks. Certain industries will be effectively closed off, including:
Your professional licenses may be suspended or revoked, depending on your field. Housing can also become difficult to secure. Landlords often screen for criminal history, and some local restrictions limit where registered offenders can live. Even when no formal restriction applies, these practical barriers make stable housing harder to maintain.
Other long-term consequences include:
These consequences are life-altering. An attorney from our law firm can walk you through your options and protect your rights from the moment you know you’re under investigation.
Investigations in child pornography cases often begin well before any arrest, so having a lawyer right away can help protect your rights. State and federal agencies work together through specialized task forces that focus on internet-based offenses involving minors, often referred to as CSAM or child sexual abuse material. These groups share information, coordinate operations, and track activity across jurisdictions. This often includes:
Many investigations rely on undercover techniques and monitoring of peer-to-peer networks. Law enforcement uses software designed to identify IP addresses associated with known files. That activity can trigger a more focused investigation tied to a specific device, account, or location. For example:
Once investigators identify a target, they usually apply for a search warrant to seize digital devices and related evidence. This might allow:
After seizure, digital evidence goes through forensic analysis, including:
Law enforcement may also attempt to speak with you during the search or request an interview before charges are filed. Those interactions are often recorded and later used as evidence. An experienced child pornography defense lawyer can help you understand what to say — and what not to say.
Child pornography cases often turn on technical legal issues rather than broad factual disputes. Our law firm’s attorneys carefully review how the investigation was conducted to find potential defense solutions.
Search and seizure issues can be astarting point when building a defense. Law enforcement must follow strict Constitutional requirements when they obtain and execute warrants. Your lawyer will consider:
If a search doesn’t comply with these requirements, certain evidence may be excluded from court.
Knowledge and intent are also key. The state must prove that you knowingly possessed or accessed the material, not simply that files existed somewhere on a device. Certain situations can help your defense, such as:
Building a defense involves addressing these issues directly and strategically. Depending on the facts, that strategy may include:
Digital forensic experts are an important part of many child pornography defenses. Independent analysis can reveal alternative explanations for how files appeared on a device or expose flaws in the state’s conclusions. Our law firm strategically uses expert testimony to clarify technical issues for the court and jury, and will explore every possible angle for your defense.
Child pornography cases in Minnesota involve technical evidence and aggressive prosecution, and the consequences can follow you for the rest of your life. You need a defense that digs into the details and finds the best possible facts to support your side of the story.
The lawyers at Brandt Kettwick Defense represent clients across Minnesota in serious felony cases, including charges involving digital evidence and complex legal issues. Contact Brandt Kettwick Defense for a confidential consultation and learn how our law firm can defend you.
All penalties listed below for child pornography are the maximum penalty that can be imposed under Minnesota Law unless otherwise specified.
Dissemination prohibited (Minn. Stat. § 617.247, subd. 3)
Whoever disseminates pornographic work to an adult or a minor, knowing or with reason to know its content and character is guilty of child pornography.
Possession prohibited (Minn. Stat. § 617.247, subd. 4)
A person who possesses a pornographic work or a computer disk or computer or other electronic, magnetic, or optical storage system or a storage system of any other type, containing a pornographic work, knowing or with reason to know its content and character.
Pornographic Work
For the purposes of this paragraph, an identifiable minor is a person who was a minor at the time the depiction was created or altered, whose image is used to create the visual depiction.
Sexual Conduct
Means any of the following:
What if I am doing my job and am in possession of child pornography?
This section does not apply to the performance of official duties by peace officers, court personnel, or attorneys, nor to licensed physicians, psychologists, or social workers or persons acting at the direction of a licensed physician, psychologist, or social worker in the course of a bona fide treatment or professional education program.
What if the parents consent to the sexual performance by their child?
Consent to sexual performance by a minor or the minor’s parent, guardian, or custodian is NOT a defense to a charge of violation of this section.
What if the pornographic work only involved people over 18 years of age?
It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating this section that the pornographic work was produced using only persons who were 18 years or older.
If you are facing charges involving child pornography possession, production or distribution, you should do two things:
1. Contact a criminal defense attorney; and,
2. Do NOT talk to the cops.
Only in extremely rare circumstances do we recommend communicating with the cops and any decision to do so should be made with the advice of counsel and with an attorney that has experience in child pornography charges present.
