Due to the advancement of technology, particularly the Internet, several crimes have also found a way to become easier to execute while being hard to detect. One notorious crime in the Internet are sex crimes. People are usually baited to send nude images of themselves that ends up completely unfavorable for them by the end. Sometimes, victims are coerced to perform pornography or other lewd acts in front of the camera. And because of this, the law enforcement had taken a focus to capturing predators and other sexual offenders online.
Know that in Nevada, when you engage on sexual activities that involve minors, human trafficking, and other activities with very harmful consequences—through the Internet or not—you can be penalized with sheer magnitude. Learn more about the most prominent internet sex crimes in this blog so you could be aware of what would happen if you get accused of doing one.
#1 Sexting
Sending sexual images to another person as a way to perform sex over the Internet is very much permissible, granted that it is between people of legal age. It does not ultimately damage any of the parties if it is consensual and if no children are involved in any way.
When adults use children as subject of their sexting, they could be charged with child pornography (more of this below). If an adult, however, sends lewd images of himself or herself to a minor, he or she could be charged with lewdness with minors.
If it happens that the sexting is happening between minors or the minor sent a photo of himself or herself to others, or used a photo of another minor, the NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes) 200.737 is to be applied. It states here that for the first violation, the minor will be only treated as a child in need of supervision. A second offense, however, is ruled as delinquency and could mean detention in the grounds of misdemeanor.
#2 Sextortion
Blackmailing people with their obscene (or even nude) photos and footages is considered sextortion and is one of the most common forms of internet sex crimes. It becomes a crime because it is a trick used to obtain money, resources, or other favors from the victim. This is a type of scam and minors who are afraid to seek help from parents or the authorities due to shame can be a long-time victim of this crime.
Being proven guilty of extortion is category B felony in Nevada and entails one to 10 years in prison and fines of $10,000.
#3 Sex Trafficking
Trafficking is one of the darkest crimes that still happen as we speak and is considered to be the modern day human slavery. Millions of people are being trafficked for sex all over the world. These transactions are often made underground and through digital means such as computers, and of course the Internet.
Like purchasing something online, sex trafficking offenders use the online space to present their victims so people can choose and bid who they desire. Of course, this is all predated by traffickers using Internet, more or less the social media, to bait the victim. First by showing them affection, meeting them, and ultimately trapping and abducting them for prostitution.
The penalties for sex trafficking are extremely serious and depends on the age of the victim. But generally, an offender proven guilty of this crime will be facing either a category A or B felony in Nevada.
#4 Child Pornography
According to NRS 200 that talks about pornography involving minors, any person who intentionally creates a pornographic film that has persons under 16 years old as subjects is guilty of category A felony. Possessing child pornography and distributing them through any electronic means is also a criminal act. Most pornography are now seen online so expect for these laws to apply one way or another if you’re charged with the crime.
In Las Vegas, several offenders have been charged of child pornography. Just this week, a man was sentenced 18 years in Las Vegas for uploading child pornography in instant messaging sites. Following his initial arrest, the law enforcement found hundreds of more child pornography materials ready to be distributed online.
Penalties for a child pornography can be complex but like sex trafficking they are built with exceptionally grave punishments. You can read more about this internet sex crime here.
#5 Online Sex Solicitation
These days, even finding sexual partners have gone online. There are multiple websites that are made for this purpose but most of the time sex solicitation are done through social media, particularly through chatting. Sexual solicitation is when the prostitute and the customer agreed to do a sexual act in exchange for money. This can also be called as an attempted prostitution. It also is the endgame of some of the sex crimes that we have already mentioned like sexting.
Sexual solicitation is illegal in Nevada and for it, a prostitute could be charged with misdemeanor with penalties such as six months in the county jail and fines of $400 for the first offense. For the patron, the charges are pretty much the same with an added burden of a community service. Note that this could get result to even heftier penalties when the solicitation you accepted was from a minor.
Sex crimes are some of the most vicious crimes that ever exist as it exploits human dignity and innocence of the victims, and now they have become even more resilient and even shrouded in anonymity because of the Internet.
If you are a person innocent of contributing to the extent of the sex crimes that we have now but are accused of a certain crime, you can defend yourself with a the help of a criminal defense attorney operating in Las Vegas. Internet sex crimes are widespread and you should not discount yourself from being involved as it can happen in the least way you expect it.