Federal Sex Crimes Conviction Nets 432 Month Prison Sentence

A plea of guilty to transportation of child pornography along with a criminal history that included two convictions on state sex crimes netted a 432 month prison sentence on federal child sex crimes for a 41-year-old Cantler man. Lawrence Hutson will also face lifetime registration as a sex offender once released as well as supervised release.

Police seized a flash drive from Hutson in 2010 that contained more than 4,000 images and videos of minors in sexually explicit acts.

Federal And State Child Porn Charges

Possession, production, distribution and transportation of child pornography is both a federal crime and a state sex offense. Although you can face charges in both the federal and state criminal justice systems for the same sex crimes, that rarely happens.

Often whether a sex offense will be charged as a state or federal crime depends on who is doing the investigating – a city, state or federal law enforcement agency., In Hutson’s case, the investigation was conducted jointly by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Federal child pornography charges will usually only follow two scenarios: the child porn was found on federal land (like a military base) or the pornographic material was distributed, sold or traded across state or country lines. With regard to internet child pornography, it’s often likely than any images received or sent via the internet, regardless of if they came from or went to your next door neighbor, may have crossed states lines as they travel through different internet providers’ servers.

Source: FBI, “Buncombe County Man Sentenced to 36 Years in Prison on Child Pornography Charges,” April 25, 2013