SCOTUS: Child Pornography Victims Must Be Compensated By Viewers

The Supreme Court ruled that victims of child pornography are entitled to at least partial compensation for their losses.

A five-justice majority said each culprit must pay an amount that “comports with the defendant’s relative role” in the harm suffered by the victim. The ruling was a partial victory for Doyle Randall Paroline, who pleaded guilty to possessing as many as 300 pornographic images, including two of a girl identified as “Amy” in court papers.

The case forced the justices to grapple with how much impact a single possessor of a widely distributed pornographic image has on a victim. Although a 1994 federal law says victims are entitled to compensation, the measure doesn’t spell out how judges should calculate the sum…

Amy sought almost $3.5 million in lost earnings and treatment costs. Federal prosecutors were pursuing that sum in court on Amy’s behalf. The images depicted Amy being raped by her uncle when she was 8 and 9 years old.

The ruling returns the case to a federal trial court in Texas to determine how much Paroline must pay. It sets aside a federal appeals court decision that had required Paroline to pay the full sum.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.