In U.S. v. McDaniel, No. 09-15038 (Jan. 28, 2011), the Court affirmed a judgment of restitution in favor of a victim of child pornography.
The Court noted that although the defendant did not create the child pornography in which the victim was pictured, he possessed the pornography, and was therefore part of the market that supported the creation of this pornography.
The Court noted that in order to recover restitution from a defendant, a victim must show that the defendant was the “proximate cause” of her monetary damages.
The Court found that McDaniel, though not the creator of the pornography that pictured the victim but only a possessor, nonetheless proximately caused the “slow acid drip” of trauma that exacerbated the victim’s emotional issues. The Court therefore affirmed the $12,750 restitution order.
