What Is Loliporn and Why Is it a Crime? 

 Posted on December 31, 2024 in Child Pornography

While child pornography has been around for a long time, a recent variant made possible by animation tools and especially by artificial intelligence has made the creation and proliferation of images depicting minors much easier. 

If you are being investigated for or charged with federal child pornography of any kind, you need to take it seriously. Your entire future could be at stake. Our Illinois sex crimes against minors defense attorney can help. 

What Is Loliporn and Is it Illegal?

Called "lolicon," "loliporn," or "loli," this genre of images describes anime, manga, cartoons, or AI-generated images depicting minors in explicitly sexual situations. Derived from the term "Lolita complex," referring to Nabakov’s book about an older man with a preference for prepubescent children, lolicon refers to the images while "shotacon" is the term often used to describe adults who consume lolicon. 

While people heavily debate whether fictional depictions of underage persons should be illegal in pornography, the plain fact is that this material is against the law and the penalties for creating, possessing, and selling it can be severe and are prosecuted aggressively. 

Is Loli Against Federal Law?

Loliporn varies in how realistic its depictions are. Artificial intelligence has made it much easier to generate realistic images, but loliporn is often not meant to be hyper-realistic. Regardless of how objectively realistic an image is, however, if it is considered obscene or is sent through the internet, snail mail, or any other form of communication sent over state lines, you could face federal charges. 

The PROTECT Act of 2003 gives prosecutors broad authority to investigate and prosecute offenses against children, including wiretapping and other communications monitoring, barring pretrial release for certain charges, and enables life imprisonment for certain crimes committed by offenders with previous criminal histories against children. 

It makes computer-generated images, as well as paintings and sculptures, illegal when the imagery meets the Miller test of being obscene. Unfortunately, this introduces some uncertainty as to whether certain images are considered illegal, but if an image appears to depict an identifiable minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, it is considered child pornography and is against federal law.

People convicted of possessing, creating, or transferring lolicon or any other child pornography under federal law can face at least five years and as many as 40 years in federal prison. Convicts must also register as sex offenders, often for life. 

Can You Defend Against Loli Charges?

In every area of criminal law, an accusation is not a conviction until a judge or jury renders a guilty verdict. A skilled criminal defense attorney can build a defense tailored to the specifics of your case. You may be able to argue that:

• You did not know the images were illegal because you thought the characters were of age

• You accidentally downloaded the images 

• You were not going to distribute the images 

• You received the images as spam but did not open them, or you closed them immediately when you saw what they were 

Call an Illinois Federal Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer

Sex crime allegations of any kind are serious, but allegations involving children or depictions of children require careful representation from a Chicago, IL sex crimes defense attorney who is committed to the idea that every client deserves equal protection under the law. You are innocent until proven guilty, and at Law Offices of Hal M. Garfinkel LLC, Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney, our job is to protect your reputation and future by creating a hard-hitting defense strategy. Call us today at 312-629-0669 to schedule a free, confidential consultation.