United States v. Williams

553 U.S. 285 (2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D using a sexually explicit screen name, signed in to a public Internet chat room. A Secret Service agent had also signed in to the chat room under the moniker 'Lisa n Miami.' D posted a message that read: 'Dad of toddler has 'good' pics of her an me for swap of your toddler pics, or live cam.' The agent struck up a conversation leading to an electronic exchange of nonpornographic pictures of children. D then messaged that he had photographs of men molesting his 4-year-old daughter. D demanded that the agent produce additional pictures. When he did not, D posted the following public message in the chat room: 'HERE ROOM; I CAN PUT UPLINK CUZ IM FOR REAL-SHE CANT.' Appended to this declaration was a hyperlink that, when clicked, led to seven pictures of actual children, aged approximately 5 to 15, engaging in sexually explicit conduct and displaying their genitals. The Secret Service then obtained a search warrant where agents seized two hard drives containing at least 22 images of real children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, some of it sadomasochistic. D was charged with one count of pandering child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the pandering conviction, holding that the statute was both overbroad and impermissibly vague. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.