Carissa Byrne Hessick - Refining Child Pornography Law: Crime, Language, and Social Consequences

The legal definition of child pornography is, at best, unclear. In part because of this ambiguity and in part because of the nature of the crime itself, the prosecution and sentencing of perpetrators, the protection of and restitution for victims, and the means for preventing repeat offenses are deeply controversial. In an effort to clarify the questions and begin to formulate answers, in this volume, experts in law and the social sciences examine child pornography law and its consequences. Focusing on the roles of language and crime definition, the contributors present a range of views about the increasingly visible role child pornography plays in the national conversation on child safety, as well as the wisdom of the punishment of those who produce, distribute, and possess materials that may be considered child pornography.

Carissa Byrne Hessick is Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Edited by Carissa Byrne Hessick

University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor

Copyright 2016 by Carissa Byrne Hessick
All rights reserved

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher.

Published in the United States of America by the
University of Michigan Press

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hessick, Carissa Byrne, editor.
Title: Refining child pornography law : crime, language, and social consequences / Edited by Carissa Byrne Hessick.
Description: Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2016. | Series: Law, meaning, and violence | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015039989| ISBN 9780472119769 (hardback) | ISBN 9780472121663 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Child pornographyUnited States. | Child abuseLaw and legislationUnited States.
Classification: LCC KF9323 .R44 2016 | DDC 345.73/0274dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039989

This book would not have been possible without the help and encouragement of many people. First, many thanks to Melody Herr, who first suggested that I explore the idea of a book on child pornography law, and whose tireless help and vision shaped the book as it appears today. Second, many thanks to Judy Stinsonan amazing associate dean and an even better friendwho encouraged me to pursue this project and who gave me the flexibility while I was on the faculty of the Sandra Day OConnor College of Law to do so. Third, I am indebted to the University Research Committee at the University of Utah for awarding a research grant that allowed me to complete this book.

I would also like to thank the many people whose research assistance helped me to complete this book: Beth DiFelice, Lee Warthen, Kristin Martinez, Amy Coughenour, Jennison Cox, and K. Clint Metheney.

Finally, my deepest thanks and appreciation go to Andy Hessick. He read a number of draft proposals and chapters, which helped make this book much better. What is more, his unflagging personal support and his constant willingness to do more than his fair share of child care and housework gave me the time and the motivation needed to complete this professional project (and many others).

1. Carissa Byrne Hessick
2. 1. James Weinstein
   2. Carissa Byrne Hessick
3. 1. Amy Adler
   2. Mary Graw Leary
4. 1. Carissa Byrne Hessick
   2. Audrey Rogers
   3. Paul G. Cassell, James R. Marsh, and Jeremy M. Christiansen
5. 1. Wendy Walsh, Melissa Wells, and Janis Wolak
   2. Troy Stabenow
   3. Melissa Hamilton

Carissa Byrne Hessick

The desire to have collections of a large number of photographs of children seems to be a common, although not universal, characteristic of many pedophiles. Some of this exchange of photographs takes place in person, a great deal takes place through the mails, and recently a significant amount of the exchange has taken place by the use of computer networks through which users of child pornography let each other know about materials they desire or have available.

Attorney Generals Commission on Pornography (1986)

When Attorney General Edwin Meese published his report on pornography more than twenty-five years ago, he could not have known how much computers and the Internet were going to affect child pornography. Technological advances have led to a proliferation of child pornography images. Technology has also wrought significant changes in the detection and prosecution of child pornography crimes. Simply put, the past twenty years have seen a child pornography revolution.

In the decades since child pornography first came to the attention of the American criminal justice system, it has been the subject of many state and federal laws and a number of high-profile Supreme Court cases. Child pornography is presently the focus of countless media stories, increasingly severe punishment, and some of the biggest modern sentencing controversies.

Despite this sustained attention, the law surrounding child pornography is far from settled. Serious questions remain about what types of images qualify as child pornography. The modern trend of increasingly harsh criminal sentences for those who possess child pornography has met with significant resistance from some judges. And whether there is a link between those who view child pornography and sex crimes against Page 2 children has become a hotly contested issue in the criminal justice community. In other words, as a matter of language, as a matter of criminal sanctions, and as a matter of social policy, child pornography requires further study and reflection.

Refining Child Pornography Law: Crime, Language, and Social Consequences adds nuance and depth to the public discussion surrounding child pornography. This volume brings together experts in law and related disciplines who study child pornography law and the consequences of that law. Focusing on language and crime definition in the child pornography debate, this volume includes chapters representing a number of different views about the increasingly visible role child pornography plays in the national conversation on child safety, as well as the wisdom of the current legal penalties that are imposed on those who produce, distribute, and possess child pornography.

Underscoring the importance of language in the child pornography debate is the controversy surrounding the term child pornography. A growing number of academics and activists contend that the term ought not be used to refer to sexually explicit images of minors. They argue that the term child pornography fails to capture the horrible nature of the harm suffered by the children who are depicted. As Professor Mary Leary notes in her chapter, The Language of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, the term child pornography likely conjures up images of younger looking adults striking provocative poses, as opposed to the reality of an increasingly violent collections of photographs and video depicting younger and younger children being violently victimized.