Child erotica

Child erotica is sexually stimulating content pertaining to children that is not child pornography. Courts will sometimes use the presence of child erotica as proof of a defendant's sexual interest in children.

Some search warrants have called for searching for, and seizing, child erotica. In U.S. v. Edwards, the 10th circuit noted that the fact that people who possess child pornography often also possess child erotica does not mean that the reverse is true, i.e. that those who possess child erotica are likely to possess child pornography. The court, citing Jacobson, noted that those who disagree with a law tend to obey it anyway.

Child erotica is also legally significant in that some supervised release conditions may ban the defendant from possessing it. For example, a condition might read, "The defendant shall not purchase, sell, view, or possess images, in any form of media or live venue that depict pornography, sexually explicit conduct, child erotica, or child nudity. The defendant shall not patronize any place where such material or entertainment is available."

See also

• Probative value, and countervailing adverse effects, of evidence