Internet-based prosecutions for child pornography have skyrocketed since 1997.  Simply stated, internet obscenity cases have skyrocketed.  From 1997 to 2004, there was a 422% increase in federal cases of this type.  The numbers have grown steadily since then.  In 2011, prosecutions were up by 40% since 2006, with an increasing number of more than 9,000 active cases.

Similar numbers have been observed for state-level cases.  We will discuss the background, nature, and defense of computer-based child pornography cases to better understand this expanding and serious area of federal and state prosecution.  Law enforcement agencies have adopted the latest state-of-the art technologies in devoting resources to this area, and deploy their resources accordingly.