I took my first steps for getting help. Can I still go to prison?

[Anonymous]

I recently talked to my therapist about my addiction and have taken my first step to getting help. She's going to look into it and get me help. My addiction is extreme, and I have heard you crime is non-presecutable if seeking help. Is this true?
My addiction is child pornography , mostly underage teens. I am currently 19 years old. Am I going to prison?

Edit: I really need some feedback on this, it'll mean a lot.

[genericname85]

ok so you can still go do prison of course. given that you get caught. a therapist is legally obliged to keep their patients anonymous and private. so you won't go to prison for getting help. but you can still go to prison for what you did.

a diagnosed pyromaniac will still be punished for burnig down shit. though they will probably not be punished as harsh as a healthy person. this also highly depends on your local legislation

however even if you're caught, i think you actually getting help and also being only 19 may be mitigating factors. so i advise you to get help asap either way.

[genericname85]

so what i higly suggest you do, is to physically get rid of any storage media that you store this stuff on and any storage media that the files may have been on in a point in time. because a lot of the time, punishment is only possible, cause you posess stuff. it is incredibly hard for them to proof that you "possessed" something. i know this, cause i was sued for illegal music downloads before xD

[Asker]

I also have autism , but am high functioning. In my state, even if I go to prison - it is two years and a fine. Still don't want to do that and am tired of looking at the stuff. I am double checking later all my videos are overage

[genericname85]

for first offense, it's a money fine, not straight up prison in my countries legislation. but you for sure have to get rid of storage media that underage stuff was on. cause the fbi has very good tools to recover data you tried your best to delete.

[Asker]

How do I get rid of storage media?

[genericname85]

harddisks, usb drives and that stuff. that's gonna be evidence if that stuff was on there.

[Asker]

Oh. Its on my phone. Is there any method to erase the files permanently beyond scavenge, or make it extremely difficult, or a way to corrupt it?

[genericname85]

understand that if you delete files, the files are still there. the storage place, they are in is just assigned to be "free" again. so if you fill up your storage to the brim with different files multiple Times, delete and overwirte again, you're relatively safe. the more random files you overwrite your storage with and the more often you do that, the smaller the chance that something can be recovered.

[genericname85]

but if you've been downloading illegal porn with your phone, i bet your privacy isn't very good anyway so you could be fucked either way xD

[MountAverage]

That's a start, but it's really just a start. And it sounds like your main reason to go to therapy is because you hope it could save you from legal troubles. That's bad. Your main two reasons should be: 1) Learning to stay away from it, and most importantly 2) protecting underaged girls from you.

[Asker]

Well I don't want to go to prison, and I don't want to view it anymore. I've never acted on these urges irl ever. I've only thought, "Well they're cute" and go about my day and try not to stare. I just want to stop it altogether. I've deleted everything and the app.

[MountAverage]

Of course you don't want to go to prison, but if that is your main motivation for seeking help, it won't solve your problem. Also, I didn't assume you ever acted out on it IRL, but when I said protecting those girls I actually meant the porn that you consume. That porn is being produced somewhere with real life underaged girls. And the only reason for that being produced is because there's a demand. A demand that you're part of.

[purplepoppy]

In theory you could go to prison. In reality there are so many paedos out there the police tend to concentrate on people who produce or share images or where kids at risk. The fact you sought help before being arrested would go in your favour should you end up in court. Whether or not your therapist has to report you to the police is a different matter. I think by law they have to.

[Twalli]

No, because they have to act in your best interest and as long as you aren't going to harm yourself or others your best interest is not the police being involved.

[wittymilf]

Seeking help is a good start, but unless you stop the behaviour you could still go to prison. You can’t just say a sought help and then continue the illegal behaviour.

[Asker]

Yeah I know. I deleted the app and entirely got rid of anything on my phone. I have no access anymore, and I've never and never will create my own.

[Asker]

Could I still Go to prison for my past possession?

[Twalli]

Yes, but not by your cure actions. They can't use your current actions to convict you because you are seeking to prevent yourself from participating in such illegal activities

[gibgabbs]

I respect your honesty. That's a tough thing to come out with. An offense as serious as child pornogaphy warrants prison time. Or at least an extensive, monitored therapy program.

[Gedaria]

Probably, how long for I don't know. In the UK it's quite a serious crime. Can carry 10plus years...

[stuntbrain]

What crime did you commit?

[Asker]

The only one I've ever committed is possession. I've never distributed or produced any. I've never acted on any urges and molested any minors , I've never ever wanted to do that. I stopped the possession today

[stuntbrain]

There's many details I don't care to know that are needed to answer. The idea that "getting help" protects against prosecution is completely false

[Twalli]

You can't based on what you told your therapist, nor when seeking help for addiction. So you should be safe. Even if the police find you, since you're seeking treatment they may just have you stay in a residential facility.

[KrakenAttackin]

Have you been charged with a crime? Regardless of treatment you can still sure as hell go to prison. Pursuing treatment might help mitigate your sentence. You need a good lawyer.

[jimmy2]

Yes you are then when out everywhere you go you have to register as a sex offender

[Twalli]

No you don't. Not if you serk help and are actually cured.

[Anonymous]

Of course you can be prosecuted. Of course you can go to prison. Your offense is one step below that of a child molester. Courts do not take that crime lightly. Seeking help does nothing to prevent prosecution. It is VERY likely you will do time, unless you have a very good lawyer... be prepared to spend some $$.

[Anonymous]

If you haven't stopped the behavior; then almost certainly.

[Asker]

What if I had stopped?

[Opinion Owner]

Then it depends on the statute of limitations, if you still have any materials still in your possession, and the prerogative of the prosecuting attorney and the court. Having materials still in your possession would be the most likely to send you to prison.

[Asker]

I deleted all material that I had on it. But technically all information deleted or not can be brought back up. So they could find it if they searched.

[stuntbrain]

Ending behavior doesn't matter, the crime already happened. That would be like saying stabbing someone 6 times could be overlooked because you stopped before 7

[stuntbrain]

How did you delete the material? If you were found in possession all that would be collected as evidence

[stuntbrain]

Come to think of it, how are you not in jail right now?

[Twalli]

@stuntbrain because a therapist telling the police means that the therapist loses their liscence and can never practice again. Doctor patient confidentiality can only be superceded by a court order and they need probable cause to get one, which they don't have

[stuntbrain]

I assumed he was caught in possession and not simply disclosing during therapy

[stuntbrain]

A handful of states have laws that mandate reporting psychotherapy patients who knowingly possess or view child pornography.

[Asker]

Yeah, I was never caught, I am seeking help and revealing it willingly. I was tired of being addicted to something so wrong that I sought help from my therapist. I've deleted all underage on my phone