CSAM Charges Lawyer Washington DC

In the District of Columbia, conduct commonly described as child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is not charged under a statute that uses that acronym. It is charged under the sexual performance provisions of the D.C. Code. D.C. Code § 22-3102 sets out the prohibited acts, and D.C. Code § 22-3103 supplies the penalties, so the provisions have to be read together. The prohibited acts reach knowingly employing, authorizing, or inducing a person under 18 to engage in a sexual performance; producing, directing, or promoting such a performance; and knowingly attending, transmitting, or possessing a sexual performance by a minor. D.C. Code § 22-3102 states no penalty of its own. Anyone reading that provision alone will find no sentencing exposure described in it, which is one reason an arrest notice or a charging document can be misread by the person holding it. The penalties appear in D.C. Code § 22-3103, which makes the offense a felony and provides a fine or up to 10 years for a first offense and a fine or up to 20 years for a second and each subsequent offense. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997 and concentrates in criminal defense, including allegations brought under these provisions. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. The firm keeps a 24/7 phone intake for people who have been contacted by investigators or already charged. Request a consultation. Calls reach the firm at (888) 437-7747.

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What D.C. Code §§ 22-3102 and 22-3103 Cover

The prohibited acts listed in D.C. Code § 22-3102 fall into groupings that carry very different practical weight. One grouping addresses the creation side of a sexual performance: knowingly employing, authorizing, or inducing a person under 18 to engage in a sexual performance, and producing, directing, or promoting such a performance. Another grouping addresses conduct that happens after a performance already exists: knowingly attending, transmitting, or possessing a sexual performance by a minor. Both sit inside the same statute, and both are punished through D.C. Code § 22-3103. The distinction between production and promotion on the one hand, and attendance, transmission, or possession on the other, still matters, because it defines what the government says the accused person actually did and how the allegation is framed from the outset.

Because D.C. Code § 22-3102 states no penalty, the sentencing question is answered entirely by D.C. Code § 22-3103. That provision classifies the offense as a felony and sets a fine or up to 10 years for a first offense and a fine or up to 20 years for a second and each subsequent offense. A discussion of exposure that cites only D.C. Code § 22-3102 is incomplete, and the two citations belong together in any accurate description of a District of Columbia case.

Subsection (c) of D.C. Code § 22-3102 carves out limited exceptions. Those exceptions concern depicted minors and near-age recipients where the depicted minor consented to transmission. They are narrow, they are written into the statute itself, and they do not convert every exchange between young people into permitted conduct. Whether a particular set of facts fits within subsection (c) is a question of statutory application that has to be worked through against the specific allegation rather than assumed from the general shape of the story.

Age is defined differently in different parts of Title 22, and that difference matters here. D.C. Code § 22-3001 defines a child as a person who has not yet attained the age of 16 and a minor as a person under 18. The sexual performance provisions run to minors, and the 2010 amendment raised the covered age from 16 to 18. Consequences also extend past a sentence, because D.C. Code § 22-4001 lists registration offenses that include specified obscenity and sexual performance offenses where the victim is a minor.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys begin with the charging language itself. A charge under D.C. Code § 22-3102 can rest on any of several distinct forms of conduct, and the difference between an allegation of producing or promoting a sexual performance and an allegation of attending, transmitting, or possessing one changes the shape of the matter. Reading the accusation closely establishes which prong the government has selected and what it has committed itself to proving.

The analysis then moves to D.C. Code § 22-3103, since D.C. Code § 22-3102 states no penalty. The felony classification and the exposure of a fine or up to 10 years for a first offense, or a fine or up to 20 years for a second and each subsequent offense, describe what the client is actually facing. Clients are told that in plain terms rather than in generalities, and they are told which citation supplies which piece of the answer.

Subsection (c) receives separate attention in any matter where the ages of the people involved are close, or where the person depicted is also the person who sent the image. The carve-outs for depicted minors and for near-age recipients where the depicted minor consented to transmission are part of the statute, and whether they reach a particular set of facts is examined rather than presumed.

Consequences that follow a conviction are addressed early. D.C. Code § 22-4001 defines registration offenses to include specified obscenity and sexual performance offenses where the victim is a minor, so registration exposure belongs in the first conversation rather than at sentencing. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle court appearances, communications with the prosecution, and the client’s questions between hearings. The firm keeps a 24/7 phone intake so that a person contacted by investigators can reach someone and learn what happens next.

Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys

Mr. Sris is the Owner and Founder of the firm and a former prosecutor. He is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York, and he practices in criminal defense, including allegations arising under the District of Columbia sexual performance provisions and the registration statutes that can follow a conviction. That prior role shapes how he reads an accusation: which statutory prong was selected, what that prong requires, and what the government has undertaken to establish.

The firm was founded in 1997. Alongside Mr. Sris, the firm works with Of Counsel attorneys, and matters are staffed as Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys, with assignments made according to the demands of the case and the schedule of the court. Clients are told who is appearing for them and how to reach the firm between hearings.

Cases charged under D.C. Code § 22-3102 and penalized under D.C. Code § 22-3103 carry effects that outlast a sentence, including registration exposure under D.C. Code § 22-4001. The firm treats those effects as part of the case rather than as a separate problem to be sorted out later. The firm keeps a 24/7 phone intake. Request a consultation. Calls reach the firm at (888) 437-7747.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a possession allegation and a production allegation?

Both appear in D.C. Code § 22-3102. One grouping of prohibited acts covers knowingly employing, authorizing, or inducing a person under 18 to engage in a sexual performance, and producing, directing, or promoting such a performance. A separate grouping covers knowingly attending, transmitting, or possessing a sexual performance by a minor. The statute lists both, and both are penalized through D.C. Code § 22-3103. The practical difference is what the government alleges you did: created or promoted the material, or received, held, or passed it along. That framing drives how the matter is described from the first hearing forward.

Does D.C. Code § 22-3102 set a penalty?

No. D.C. Code § 22-3102 describes prohibited acts and states no penalty of its own, which is why it should always be cited alongside D.C. Code § 22-3103. That second provision classifies the offense as a felony and provides a fine or up to 10 years for a first offense, and a fine or up to 20 years for a second and each subsequent offense. If you have read a summary that cites only D.C. Code § 22-3102 and states a sentence, the sentence figure did not come from that section.

What do the subsection (c) exceptions cover?

Subsection (c) of D.C. Code § 22-3102 carves out limited exceptions for depicted minors and for near-age recipients where the depicted minor consented to transmission. The exceptions are narrow and are written into the statute rather than left to informal practice. They do not create a general allowance for images exchanged among young people, and they do not answer every question about a specific case. Whether your facts fall within subsection (c) depends on who was depicted, who received the material, the ages involved, and whether the depicted minor consented to transmission.

Does the statute apply when the person depicted is 16 or 17?

Yes. D.C. Code § 22-3001 defines a minor as a person under 18, and the 2010 amendment raised the age covered by the sexual performance provisions from 16 to 18. That is a point of frequent confusion, because the same definitions section defines a child as a person who has not yet attained the age of 16, and that lower figure governs other offenses in Title 22. For a sexual performance allegation, the relevant line is 18, subject to the carve-outs in subsection (c).

Can a conviction lead to sex offender registration?

D.C. Code § 22-4001 sets out registration definitions, and registration offenses include specified obscenity and sexual performance offenses where the victim is a minor, along with any offense under Chapter 30 of Title 22. Registration is therefore a realistic consequence to plan for in a sexual performance case rather than a remote possibility. If you are facing a charge under D.C. Code § 22-3102, ask about registration exposure at the outset so the answer is part of every decision that follows.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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