Evidence-Child Pornography

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Shannon Donoho

Case No.: 21-2489

Officials: Easterbrook, Ripple, and Wood, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Evidence-Child Pornography

Having acquired explicit images of child exploitation from an online source associated with Donoho, law enforcement officials proceeded to execute a search warrant at his residence in Wisconsin. During the operation, they uncovered digital materials depicting child pornography, along with evidence indicating Donoho’s involvement in producing such content. During the concluding arguments, Donoho asserted that the jury should weigh whether the depicted actions met the criteria of being sexually explicit according to prevailing “community standards.” Conversely, the prosecution contended that the central question was whether the images were created with the intent to provoke arousal in the viewer.

The court clarified that neither the Supreme Court nor the Seventh Circuit had definitively established which of these definitions held precedence. The jury was encouraged to evaluate various factors, including the intrinsic qualities of the image, the context in which it was set, the poses struck by the minors and any other individuals featured, as well as the photographer’s mindset. Ultimately, the determination of whether an image was sexually explicit was entrusted to the collective societal conscience.

Donoho was subsequently found guilty on charges related to the possession, production, and attempted production of child pornography. The Seventh Circuit upholds this decision. The district court’s guidance to the jury, allowing them to take Donoho’s intent into account when assessing whether the images contained lascivious content and were designed to elicit sexual desire, was deemed appropriate. Based on the content, backdrop, and composition of the images, as well as the methods Donoho employed to create them, a reasonable jury could logically conclude that he had exploited minors by generating explicit visual depictions showcasing their genitalia, anus, or pubic areas.

Affirmed

Decided 08/04/23

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