Berman, Douglas A.; New US Sentencing Commission report on the history of federal child porn guidelines, Oct 30 2009
This report provides a history of the child pornography guidelines, which were initially promulgated in 1987 and substantively revised nine times in the following 22 years. [...]
Congress has demonstrated its continued interest in deterring and punishing child pornography offenses, prompting the Commission to respond to multiple public laws that created new child pornography offenses, increased criminal penalties, directly (and uniquely) amended the child pornography guidelines, and required the Commission to consider offender and offense characteristics for the child pornography guidelines.
Sentencing courts have also expressed comment on the perceived severity of the child pornography guidelines through increased below-guidelines variance and downward departure rates. Consistent with the Commission’s duties to review and revise the guidelines, and the Supreme Court’s direction, the Commission has established a review of the child pornography guidelines [...]