Production of Child Pornography Lawyer New York

A production charge in New York does not carry a section of its own. It is brought under the same provision that covers distribution: Penal Law § 263.15, promoting a sexual performance by a child, which reaches a person who, knowing the character and content, produces, directs or promotes any performance that includes sexual conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age. The verbs “produces” and “directs” open that list, and a count built on them describes a different role than a count built on “promotes,” even though both sit in the same section and both are graded a Class D felony. The threshold that governs is the one written into § 263.15: a child less than seventeen years of age. That is not the threshold used by the possession sections, §§ 263.11 and 263.16, which describe a child less than sixteen years of age and are graded Class E felonies. The current text of § 263.15 reaches a performance “created or altered by digitization as defined in section 245.15 of this part.” A conviction under article 263 is a registrable sex offense under N.Y. Correction Law § 168-a(2)(a)(i). Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. represents people accused of producing or directing under § 263.15. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor. Request a consultation. The firm’s 24/7 phone intake takes calls at (888) 437-7747.

“Produces or Directs” Within Penal Law § 263.15

Penal Law § 263.15 sets out alternative ways of committing a single offense. A person may be charged as having produced the performance, as having directed it, or as having promoted it. Each alternative carries the same grade, the same knowledge requirement, and the same age threshold, and each describes conduct that is distinct from the others. A production allegation is not a separate crime from a distribution allegation in New York; it is a separate theory within the same section.

The knowledge requirement runs through all of it. The section applies to a person who acts knowing the character and content of the performance. A count alleging production must place the accused in the described role with that state of mind, and the record supporting creation is not the record supporting possession or access.

Grade and age come from the section rather than from the verb selected. Producing, directing, and promoting are each graded a Class D felony under § 263.15, and each involves a child less than seventeen years of age. That figure is specific to this section. Possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child under Penal Law § 263.11 and possessing a sexual performance by a child under Penal Law § 263.16 each involve a child less than sixteen years of age and are graded Class E felonies. Any description reporting a uniform age across the article flattens a distinction written into the statutory text.

Obscenity is not an element written into § 263.15. It is the element that separates § 263.11 from § 263.16 within the possession sections. The current text of § 263.15 also reaches a performance “created or altered by digitization as defined in section 245.15 of this part.” Penal Law § 245.15, unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, is a Class A misdemeanor, and its subdivision 2(d) supplies that digitization definition. This page states no effective date and no amending chapter for the digitization language.

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

The starting question in a production matter is which alternative in Penal Law § 263.15 the count actually charges. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys ask the People to identify whether the theory is producing, directing, or promoting, because a count that recites the full list leaves the defense guessing at the role alleged. The role alleged determines what evidence bears on the case and what the knowledge element attaches to.

Age is verified against the section cited. A count under § 263.15 depends on sexual conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age, and how the People intend to establish age is a distinct question from how they intend to establish the accused’s role. Where a case also carries possession counts, those counts run on the lower threshold of a child less than sixteen years of age, and the same proof does not necessarily satisfy both.

Attribution of conduct receives close attention in production matters. Allegations that a person directed a performance often rest on communications, and communications are read in context rather than in isolation. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys examine what the record shows about who created what, whether the material described matches the statutory description, and whether the account or device relied on was under the accused’s control.

Where the material is said to have been created or altered by digitization, the count is measured against the definition cross-referenced from Penal Law § 245.15 rather than against a general notion of a manipulated image.

Because article 263 convictions are registrable sex offenses under N.Y. Correction Law § 168-a(2)(a)(i), registration exposure is weighed alongside the Class D felony grade whenever a disposition is considered. Clients are told what the section requires and what each path involves. Request a consultation.

The Attorneys at Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C.

Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has been in practice since 1997 and concentrates in criminal defense. Mr. Sris is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. As a former prosecutor, he approaches an article 263 accusation the way a charging document is built: section by section, element by element, and count by count.

New York production allegations are handled by Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys. The firm assigns matters individually and tells the client who is responsible for the file rather than naming Of Counsel attorneys on a practice page.

Production counts sit inside Penal Law § 263.15 together with distribution counts, which means the statutory grade and the age threshold are the same while the alleged role is not. The firm reads a production count against the specific alternative charged, checks the age written into the section, and separates the section’s requirements from the requirements of any possession counts charged alongside it. That reading also frames how the registration consequences under N.Y. Correction Law § 168-a are evaluated. A person charged under § 263.15 in New York can have the count examined on those terms. Request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is production charged under a different statute than distribution in New York?

No. Both are charged under Penal Law § 263.15, promoting a sexual performance by a child, which reaches a person who, knowing the character and content, produces, directs or promotes a performance including sexual conduct by a child less than seventeen years of age. Producing, directing, and promoting are alternatives inside that single section. Because they share a section, they share a grade and an age threshold, and the section is a Class D felony. If your count cites § 263.15, the meaningful question is which alternative the People say applies to you.

What age applies when the allegation is producing or directing?

A child less than seventeen years of age. That threshold is written into Penal Law § 263.15 and applies to producing, directing, and promoting alike. It is higher than the threshold in the possession sections: Penal Law § 263.11 and Penal Law § 263.16 each describe a child less than sixteen years of age. If your case includes both a production count and a possession count, the counts do not share an age threshold, and any document or summary that applies the same age to every count in the case should be checked against the text of each section.

Does the material have to be obscene for a production count?

Obscenity does not appear as an element of Penal Law § 263.15. It is the element that distinguishes the possession sections from each other: Penal Law § 263.11 reaches an obscene performance including sexual conduct by a child less than sixteen years of age, while Penal Law § 263.16 reaches such a performance without requiring that it be obscene. Both possession sections are Class E felonies. If you are comparing counts, look at which section each count names before assuming that an obscenity element is in play.

What does a production count have to say about the role alleged?

Penal Law § 263.15 lists producing, directing, and promoting as alternatives, and those describe different conduct. A count that recites the statutory list without identifying the alleged role tells you the section but not the theory. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys raise that question early, because the answer governs what evidence is relevant and what the knowledge element, knowing the character and content, attaches to. If your count is drafted in the language of the whole list, the specificity of the allegation is itself something to litigate.

Does a production count reach material generated or altered by software?

The current text of Penal Law § 263.15 includes a performance “created or altered by digitization as defined in section 245.15 of this part.” Penal Law § 245.15, unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, is a Class A misdemeanor, and its subdivision 2(d) supplies the digitization definition cross-referenced by the article 263 sections. That is the provision reaching artificially generated and altered imagery. This page does not state when that language took effect or which chapter added it. Where such material is alleged, the count and the cross-referenced definition are read together.

Related Pages

• Distribution of Child Pornography Lawyer New York
• Possession of Child Pornography Lawyer New York
• CSAM Charges Lawyer New York
• Sex Crime Investigation Lawyer New York

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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