Criminal Defense Lawyers

Can CPS Take My Kids If I’m Charged With Child Pornography

The images were never of your children. You never touched your children. You never showed your children anything inappropriate. And yet the moment you’re arrested on federal child pornography charges, your relationship with your own children becomes the next target. Because Child Protective Services doesn’t need evidence that you harmed YOUR children. They need evidence that your children might be at risk. And a federal child pornography charge is all the evidence they need.

This is the collision that most defendants don’t see coming. The federal case is terrifying enough – the possibility of prison, the mandatory minimums, the sex offender registration. But the family court case that opens simultaneously might be worse. Because in federal court, you’re presumed innocent until proven guilty. In family court, you’re presumed dangerous until you prove you’re not.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you real information about what happens with CPS and child custody when you’re facing federal child pornography charges – the investigations you’ll face, the hearings that get scheduled, and the realistic outcomes you can fight for. Todd Spodek has represented clients navigating both federal criminal proceedings and the parallel family court nightmare. This article explains what you need to know.

What Happens The Moment You’re Arrested

Heres the system revelation that changes your understanding of whats happening. Federal agents don’t just arrest you and walk away. They make notifications. One of those notifications goes to Child Protective Services in your jurisdiction. The moment you’re in federal custody, CPS is opening a file on your family.

This isnt optional. This isnt discretionary. Federal law and state protocols require this referral. The same day your charged federally, CPS investigators are being assigned to your case. They’re pulling records. They’re preparing to contact your spouse. They’re getting ready to interview your children. The federal investigation triggered a second investigation – one focused entirely on wheather your children should remain in your home.

The consequence cascade is brutal and predictable. Federal arrest leads to CPS referral. CPS referral leads to emergency custody hearing. Emergency custody hearing leads to children being removed or restrictions placed on your access. Bail conditions prevent contact with minors – including your own children. And if your convicted, termination of parental rights becomes a real possibility. All of this starts the day you’re arrested.

At Spodek Law Group, we help clients understand that they’re not fighting one case. They’re fighting two. And the family court case often moves faster then the criminal case. You could lose custody while your still presumed innocent in federal court.

Theres another layer that most defendants dont realize until its to late. Your criminal defense attorney cant represent you in family court. Different jurisdiction. Different rules. Different strategy. You need separate counsel for the CPS investigation and any custody proceedings. And those attorneys need to coordinate – becuase what you say in one proceeding can affect the other.

Two Courts, Two Standards

Heres the paradox that destroys defendants who dont understand it. In federal court, the government has to prove your guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In family court, the standard is “best interest of the child.” Thats not a legal standard in the same sense. Its a subjective judgment. And judges making that judgment are extremely cautious when child pornography is involved.

Being CHARGED – not convicted, just charged – can affect temporary custody decisions. The court doesnt need to wait for your federal trial. They can restrict your access to your children immediately based on the charges alone. They can require supervised visitation. They can prohibit overnight contact. They can remove children from the home entirely if they believe there’s risk.

The burden shifts in ways that seem impossible. In criminal court, the prosecution has to prove you did something wrong. In family court, once theres a child pornography charge, YOU have to prove your safe. YOU have to demonstrate that your children arent at risk. YOU have to convince the judge that despite these charges, you should have access to your own children.

Todd Spodek helps clients understand this fundamental difference. The rules you learned about criminal justice – innocent until proven guilty, burden of proof on the government – dont apply the same way in family court. The family court judge has enormous discretion. And when child safety is the concern, that discretion tilts heavily toward restriction.

Theres also the timeline problem. Family court proceedings can resolve much faster then federal criminal cases. Your custody could be determined – maybe permanently – before your criminal trial even starts. And even if your acquitted federally, that dosent automatically restore your custody rights. Family court is independent. They made their determination based on their standard. An acquittal in criminal court dosent reverse that determination.

Aggravated Circumstances – The Expedited Track

Heres the system revelation that makes everything worse. In many states, child pornography charges trigger whats called “aggravated circumstances.” This is a legal classification that changes the entire CPS process. Under aggravated circumstances, the state is NOT required to make reasonable efforts to reunify the family. They can move directly to termination of parental rights.

Texas law is explicit about this. Parents who possess child pornography involving children face expedited termination proceedings. No service plan. No rehabilitation requirements. No path back to custody. The state treats child pornography possession the same as direct abuse of your own children – even when the images were of strangers.

This means the normal CPS process – where parents are given chances to demonstrate improvement, complete programs, and work toward reunification – may not apply to you. Instead, CPS can fast-track termination. They can argue that the nature of the offense itself demonstrates unfitness. They can proceed to permanent custody decisions without the usual steps.

At Spodek Law Group, we help clients understand wheather there jurisdiction treats CP charges as aggravated circumstances. If it does, the urgency is even greater. There may be no second chances. The first hearing may be the only opportunity to prevent permanent loss of custody.

Theres a cruel irony here. The expedited process is designed to protect children from parents who have directly harmed them. But it gets applied to parents whose only connection to child exploitation was viewing images. No contact with any child. No involvement in production. Just possession. And the system treats that possession as grounds for permanent separation from children who were never at risk from those images.

What CPS Investigators Will Do

Heres what happens after that referral gets processed. CPS investigators will contact your spouse. They’ll want to interview your children. They’ll want to inspect your home. They’ll want documentation about who lives there, who has access, what devices are present. And unlike federal agents, CPS investigators dont need a criminal warrant to do most of this.

Your children will be interviewed. This is nearly unavoidable. Investigators will ask them questions about your behavior. About your computer use. About wheather they’ve ever seen anything inappropriate. About wheather you’ve ever behaved inappropriately with them. These interviews are traumatic for children. They’re also potential evidence in both your CPS case and your federal case.

This is the hidden connection that catches defendants. What you say to CPS investigators is not protected. Unlike your statements to your attorney, unlike communications with your spouse in some contexts, your statements to CPS can be shared. They can be used in family court. And they can be forwarded to federal prosecutors. The investigations are separate in theory. In practice, information flows between them.

The irony is painful. Your children are being “protected” through a process that traumatizes them. They’re being interviewed about sensitive subjects by strangers. They’re being made to question their own memories, their own father. The protection looks alot like harm from the child’s perspective. But CPS is legally obligated to investigate. And investigation means interviews.

At Spodek Law Group, we advise clients on how to handle CPS investigations without damaging their federal case. You cant refuse to cooperate with CPS – that creates its own problems for custody. But you also cant say things that strengthen the case against you federally. Navigating this requires separate legal counsel who understands both systems.

The Bail Condition Trap

Heres the paradox that separates defendants from there children even before any custody determination. Federal bail conditions in child pornography cases almost always include a restriction: no contact with minors. This sounds reasonable as a general condition. The problem is that “minors” includes your own children.

So you make bail. Your released from custody. Your home. But your not allowed to see your kids. The same bail conditions that keep you out of jail keep you away from your family. If your spouse takes the kids elsewhere, you cant be there. If your kids have school events, you cant attend. If theres a medical emergency, you cant be present. The bail condition is absolute.

This creates immediate leverage for anyone who wants to use it against you. A spouse seeking divorce now has complete control of the children. You cant contest anything in real time. You cant be present for decisions. Your parenting rights are effectively suspended by the bail condition alone – before any family court has even ruled.

Todd Spodek works with criminal defense attorneys to challenge overly restrictive bail conditions when possible. Sometimes modifications can be obtained – supervised contact with your own children, for example. But the default condition is no contact. And convincing a federal magistrate to modify that condition requires demonstrating that contact is safe. Thats difficult when the underlying charge involves child exploitation, even if the images were never of your children.

Theres also the enforcement reality. If you violate bail conditions – even briefly, even with your own children – your bail can be revoked. Your back in custody. And now youve demonstrated to both the federal court and the family court that you cant follow rules designed to protect children. The bail condition trap has no clean exit.

When Your Spouse Uses This Against You

Heres the uncomfortable truth that nobody prepares defendants for. If your marriage was already troubled, a federal child pornography charge ends any negotiation. Your spouse now has absolute leverage. They will get custody – at least temporarily, probably permanently. The only question is wheather you get any visitation at all.

If your spouse files for divorce while your case is pending – and many do – the emergency custody motion writes itself. Spouse is charged with federal child pornography offenses. Children require protection. Grant immediate full custody. No judge is going to deny that motion. No judge is going to require evidence that the children were specifically at risk. The charge is enough.

The irony gets worse. In some cases, the spouse who reported the behavior – who may have discovered the material and called authorities – can also face scrutiny. CPS may question wheather they “knew or should have known.” If they lived in the home, had access to the devices, and claim they had no idea for years – CPS may question that. The spouse trying to protect themselves may end up investigated too. And if CPS determines that both parents failed to provide a safe environment, the children go to foster care.

At Spodek Law Group, we help clients understand that family court is a separate battlefield. The strategies that work in federal court – aggressive defense, challenging evidence, asserting rights – may backfire in family court where the judge is trying to protect children. Different tone. Different approach. Different attorneys.

Theres a calculation that defendants have to make. Fighting aggressively for custody rights might require statements or positions that damage your federal case. Focusing entirely on your federal defense might mean conceding custody entirely. These cases are interconnected. What you do in one affects the other. And you dont have the luxury of handling them sequentially. They run simultaneously.

Your Children Caught In The Middle

Heres the reality that haunts every parent facing these charges. Your children are going to know something is very wrong. Depending on their ages, they may know exactly what the charges are. The internet exists. Friends talk. Court records become public. There is no protecting them from this knowledge.

The trauma isnt just the investigation. Its the separation. If your removed from the home or prohibited from contact, your children experience that as abandonment – even if they intellectually understand its not your choice. Young children dont process “bail conditions.” They process “daddy isnt here.” The damage to your relationship with your children may outlast even the criminal case.

And theres the long-term reality. If your convicted, sex offender registration follows you. That registration affects where you can live – often within certain distances of schools or places children gather. If your children are minors when your released, the registration restrictions may prevent you from living with them at all. The conviction creates a permanent barrier between you and your family, enforced by law.

Todd Spodek has seen families navigate these impossible situations. Sometimes the best outcome is supervised visitation that eventually expands. Sometimes its a carefully structured arrangement where you maintain a relationship within legal constraints. Sometimes the best outcome is simply not making things worse while you fight the federal case. There is no good outcome. There is only damage control.

What To Tell Your Children

Heres the uncomfortable question that every parent facing these charges has to answer. What do you tell your kids? They know something is wrong. They see the stress. They notice your absence. They may have witnessed the arrest or the search. They deserve some explanation. But what can you safely say?

The answer depends on there ages and what they already know. Young children need reassurance more then information. “Daddy has a legal problem and has to deal with it. Lawyers are helping. It dosent change how much I love you.” Thats enough for children who cant process more. They need to know theyre safe and loved. They dont need details they cant understand.

Older children and teenagers may already know more then you realize. The internet exists. Court records are searchable. Friends hear things from there parents. Social media spreads information fast. If your children are going to find out anyway, its better they hear something from you first – even if its limited. “Im facing serious charges. I cant talk about the details becuase of the legal process. But I want you to know Im fighting this and I love you.”

What you cant do is discuss the substance of the case. Anything you say to your children could be repeated to CPS investigators. Your children could be asked about conversations with you. If you told them details that get reported back, those details become evidence. Keep conversations focused on reassurance, not facts.

At Spodek Law Group, we help families figure out age-appropriate communication that protects the case while maintaining relationships. The goal is connection without exposure. Love without confession. Presence – even limited presence – without statements that damage your defense.

Fighting For What You Can Get

Heres the inversion that matters more then anything else. The question isnt “can they take my kids.” The question is “whats the fastest path to the maximum contact I can legally have.”

If CPS has already opened an investigation, you need a family law attorney immediately. Not your criminal defense attorney. A family lawyer who understands CPS proceedings and custody fights. This attorney needs to coordinate with your criminal counsel but maintain separate strategy.

The goal in family court is demonstrating safety. This might mean proactive steps: completing a psychological evaluation before the court orders one, participating in treatment programs voluntarily, proposing detailed supervision arrangements that address the court’s concerns. The parent who comes to court with a plan is treated differently then the parent who comes with denials.

Supervised visitation is often the realistic first step. You see your children with a third party present – a professional supervisor or an approved family member. This isnt the relationship you want. But its contact. Its maintaining the connection. And its demonstrating to the court that you can follow rules and your children are safe in your presence.

Call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free and completly confidential. If your facing federal child pornography charges and have children, you need attorneys who understand both systems – the federal criminal case and the family court nightmare running alongside it. At Spodek Law Group, we help clients protect their relationship with their children while defending against federal charges. The cases are connected. The strategy has to be too.

The federal case may take years to resolve. The family court case moves faster. What happens with your children in the next few weeks and months may shape your relationship with them for the rest of your life. Dont wait for the criminal case to end before addressing custody. By then, the family court decisions may already be permanent. The time to fight for your children is now – while the cases are both active, while the outcomes are still undetermined, while theres still something to fight for.