For most people, viewing pornography is a private affair, or one shared only in the context of a personal relationship. When it comes to illegal pornography, one would think that a viewer would keep that part of his or her life even more private. One Oklahoma City man, however, is sitting in the Oklahoma County jail after finding out the hard way that a friend to whom he showed child pornography did not share his affinity for illegal porn.
Child Pornography Charges
James Polk Wilson, 41, was arrested last week after a woman he invited to his house told police that the man had shown her pornographic videos, including child pornography. According to local reports, at least one of the videos showed the suspect engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old, and another showed a 3-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by an adult male.
Wilson was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on two counts of Indecent or Lewd Acts with a Child under 16, one count of Aggravated Possession of Child Pornography, and one felony count of Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance. He was held on $43,000 bond, and a Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office inmate search shows that he is still in custody as of this writing.
At the time of his arrest, Wilson was serving a one-year deferred sentence for Offering to Engage in an Act of Prostitution, a misdemeanor case which would have been dismissed in May of this year if he had complied with the terms of his probation.
In a deferred sentence, one of the terms is always that the defendant cannot break any laws during probation. Being arrested on five felony counts including felony drug crimes and sex crimes against children is certainly a violation of probation.
Oklahoma Lewd Acts Laws
Lewd or Indecent Acts or Proposals to a Child Under 16 (21 O.S. § 1123) is a Level 3 felony sex crime punishable by 3 to 20 years in prison followed by lifetime sex offender registration. If the victim is younger than age 12, the crime is punishable by 20 years to life.
Aggravated Possession of Child Pornography (21 O.S. § 1040.12a) is defined as the knowing possession of "one hundred (100) or more separate materials depicting child pornography." Wilson allegedly told his visitor that he had "hundreds and hundreds" of such videos. Aggravated Possession of Child Pornography is a felony sex offense punishable by a maximum of life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, and registration as sex offender under the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registration Act.
Just four months away from the dismissal of a misdemeanor charge, Wilson now faces criminal charges that will impact the rest of his life. If convicted, he faces life in prison and lifetime sex offender registration.
