People v. Hollins

Marshall Hollins (plaintiff), a 32-year-old man, was in a legal sexual relationship with A.V., a 17-year-old girl. The age of consent in Illinois was 17. Hollins took photographs of himself engaging in sexual intercourse with A.V. and, at A.V.’s request, emailed the photos to A.V. A.V.’s mother saw the email with the photos, recognized Hollins’s email address, and reported Hollins to the police. The police interviewed Hollins, who admitted to taking the photos despite knowing A.V. was under the age of 18. Hollins was charged and convicted on three counts of child pornography. Hollins appealed, arguing that (1) Illinois’s child-pornography statute was unconstitutional as applied to him because it violated his substantive due-process rights by effectively criminalizing his otherwise legal sexual relationship with A.V.; and (2) Illinois’s child-pornography statute violated equal protection because it discriminated against individuals in otherwise legal sexual relationships based solely on the child-pornography statute’s age requirement. The State of Illinois (defendant) countered, arguing that the child-pornography statute was constitutional, both in general and as applied to Hollins, because it was rationally related to Illinois’s legitimate interest in protecting minor children from sexual exploitation via child pornography.