[PissAndVinegar]

"minimum sentence for receiving child pornography is 15 years in prison."

This law sounds odd - If someone emails (or snail mails) me a kiddie porn image, I can goto jail for 15yrs?

I suppose the devil is in the details, I hope receiving actually means "willfully and knowingly accepting" it.

[fatnotlazy]

I suppose the devil is in the details, I hope receiving actually means "willfully and knowingly accepting" it.

***

And if a pattern was detected -- that is, you were in the habit of downloading and disseminating these images...as opposed to one time accidentally opening some spam and downloading the contents.

[Publius6961]

This law sounds odd - If someone emails (or snail mails) me a kiddie porn image, I can goto jail for 15yrs?

In theory, yes.
One of the reasons this type of thought crime should make everyone nervous, although in "practice", it leaves a wide latitude to the prosecutors. A latitude subject to instant abuse on a whim.

With all the other crimes he is known to have committed, it is puzzling and frustrating to see him jailed for the most ambiguous and intangible one. It boggles the mind that some actual sexual abusers get less time.