Child Pornography Victim Lawsuits
Child pornography is not just a crime; it is a form of sexual abuse that leaves profound emotional, psychological, and physical scars. For survivors, the effects often linger for years, affecting every aspect of life.
If you are a survivor of this type of abuse, or if you're a parent who discovers your child has been a victim of child pornography, California law allows you to pursue civil damages against those responsible, even if a criminal case has not been filed or resolved.
This pathway gives survivors the opportunity to reclaim their power, obtain financial compensation, and take a critical step toward healing. That said, winning a civil suit against child pornographers can be a complicated and emotion-filled process.
This is why having an experienced legal team in your corner is crucial. We are here to support you every step of the way.
At the Injury Justice Law Firm, our California sexual abuse attorneys have abundant experience and an excellent track record navigating complex civil claims related to child pornography, and we will work tirelessly to get you the compensation, justice, and closure you deserve.
Simply put, if you or someone you love has been a victim of child pornography, you have the opportunity to pursue a civil lawsuit against the person or people responsible for inflicting this type of harm on you.
Through a civil suit, you can obtain compensation that will help you secure the treatment and care you need to move forward with your life. This could include the person who took sexually explicit photos of you as a child, professionals who might have had concerns brought to their attention but did nothing, and day care providers who are responsible for caring for children while their parents are at work, among others.
Often, child victims of sexual exploitation are taken advantage of by someone close to them and their families, although there are countless cases of children whose abusers are strangers. Anyone and everyone involved in allowing a child to be a victim of child pornography should be brought to justice.
The Impact of Sexual Abuse on Children
The exploitation of children in the creation, possession, or distribution of child pornography is an extreme violation of trust and safety. Children subjected to such abuse often experience a cascade of harm that can persist well into adulthood.
Survivors frequently struggle with feelings of shame, betrayal, and powerlessness. These emotional wounds may manifest as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or even thoughts of self-harm. Many survivors find it difficult to form healthy relationships, manage their emotions, or feel secure in their own identity.
The impacts don't stop with emotional and psychological harm. Survivors may also face financial burdens, such as the cost of long-term counseling or rehabilitation programs.
The effects are often compounded by the knowledge that their abuse has been captured and potentially shared, adding a layer of trauma as they grapple with the fear that these images or videos might resurface.
Filing a civil lawsuit not only seeks to hold perpetrators accountable but also validates your experiences and is a significant step toward rebuilding your life. It's a way of saying, 'What happened to me was wrong, and I deserve justice.'
Restitution and Child Pornography
Restitution can be ordered in child pornography cases. The Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (18 U.S.C. 3663A) requires that a victim of a federal crime be given restitution for injuries or damages suffered as a result of the crime.
Usually, this Act applies to victims suffering economic losses. Still, it also applies to child pornography cases, as well as another law dealing specifically with loss restitution in child pornography cases (18 U.S.C. 2259). The victim's losses may include:
- Medical services relating to physical, psychiatric, or psychological care,
- Physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation,
- Lost income; attorneys' fees, and
- Any other losses suffered by the victim as a proximate result of the offense.
Possession of Child Porn Photos
A defendant can be ordered to pay restitution for the losses listed above even if his only connection to the victim is that he has a copy in his possession. This means the defendant can be ordered to pay restitution to the victim even though he had nothing to do with the abuse and merely possessed the computer image.
In the case of United States v. McDaniel, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a victim who is identified as the child in a child pornographic image can be entitled to victim restitution.
The defendant possessed a collection of photographs that included those of a child depicting graphic images of unspeakable sexual abuse at the hands of her father.
Now an adult, the identity was confirmed through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) database, and the prosecution informed her that the images of her abuse had been found and viewed by the defendant on his computer.
At the defendant's sentencing, the government asked the judge to order restitution for the victim's past psychological services and future counseling and therapy costs. The government offered an expert on the impact of psychological trauma, who diagnosed her with the following psychological disorders:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder,
- Dissociate disorder,
- Depression.
The defendant was ordered to pay restitution for the harm caused to the victim on the theory that the victim suffers each time her image is viewed. The defendant was ordered to pay the victim $12,500 in restitution, and the court of appeals upheld this restitution order.
Even though the defendant played no part in making the photographs and certainly did not abuse the victim, the defendant's conduct in merely possessing the images contributed to the "proximate cause" of the victim's harm.
Statute of Limitations for Child Porn
Understanding the time limits for filing a lawsuit is vital, but California has taken significant steps to extend protections for survivors of sexual abuse, particularly those involving child pornography.
Under the current statute of limitations for civil claims in child pornography cases, most survivors can file a claim until they reach the age of 40 years old. This reflects the fact that children often cannot verbalize what happened to them, and even many adult survivors are not ready to come forward about what happened to them until much later in life.
Even more importantly, a recent key change to California law has eliminated the statute of limitations for incidents of child sexual abuse or exploitation that occurred on or after January 1, 2024. This means that if you were subjected to child pornography after this date, you could file a lawsuit at any point in your life.
Damages Sought in the Lawsuit
Although filing a claim against your abuser won't erase the trauma you've been through, many victims of child pornography find that holding their abusers accountable is empowering. Your attorney will help you seek compensation for every way in which your life has been affected by this sexual exploitation.
When filing a child pornography civil claim, survivors can seek several types of damages. These include compensation for both the tangible and intangible harms caused by this deep personal abuse.
Economic Damages
These cover the financial costs tied to the abuse, such as:
- Therapy and mental health treatment (both past and future)
- Medical expenses related to any physical injuries stemming from the abuse
- Lost wages if the trauma interferes with your ability to work
- Loss of earning capacity for survivors unable to maintain jobs due to long-term psychological harm
Non-Economic Damages
The law also recognizes the emotional and psychological toll of abuse and allows damages to be claimed for intangible losses for which a dollar value cannot be easily assessed. These damages include compensation for:
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- Social or relational difficulties caused by the abuse
Punitive Damages
California courts also sometimes award punitive damages in cases of egregious misconduct. These damages are meant to punish offenders and deter others from engaging in similar behavior. They highlight the gravity of abuse involving child pornography and send a clear message that such actions are intolerable.
Child Porn Survivors
In addition to the remedies above, civil claims regarding child pornography may also extend beyond the individuals directly involved. Survivors can hold those who facilitated the abuse accountable, such as distribution platforms, institutions, or others who knowingly failed to stop the exploitation.
You may also request the destruction of illicit materials in which you were victimized, providing an additional measure of relief.
Our experienced child sexual abuse attorneys will guide you through the entire process, investigating the incident, gathering key evidence, calculating damages, and pursuing your claim through intensive negotiation and aggressive litigation, as necessary, to ensure your abusers are held accountable.
Your attorney will ensure that every loss is accounted for so you are able to secure maximum compensation through your claim. Regardless of whether your abuser was brought to justice in criminal court, you have the opportunity to stand up to him or her and secure the compensation you deserve through a civil claim.
For more information, contact our sexual abuse lawyers at the Injury Justice Law Firm, based in Los Angeles, California.
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