What is child pornography (and what is NOT) according to the Law? 2026

The case of Nadia's solidarity scam continues to surprise us (and outrage us) as the investigation continues. The last confirmed news that was available until last night was that the police in charge of the case had found, on one of the flash drives of the girl's father, photographs considered to be of a sexual nature and that featured the minor. Faced with this discovery, the parents declared that in the photos in which they were having sexual relations in front of the girl, she was asleep, and in those images in which the little girl was naked, they argued that those photos were taken for medical reasons, specifically to treat dermatological conditions. However (and according to media such as El Español, La SextaoABC), the judge states in the order that he does not believe that the photographs had such pediatric purposes, since there were no close-ups of areas of skin affected by any disease and the minor was, in addition, placed in sexually explicit positions. In the other images referred to in the investigation and the order (the images in which the parents appear having intimate relations in which the little girl is seen), she appears with her feet in different positions within the same bed, which is why the judge does not consider the statement of Nadia's parents regarding the little girl's supposed dream to be truthful.

Given all this, the judge, Ignacio Risueño, accuses in his order and finds grounds to charge Nadia's parents with the crimes of exhibitionism, sexual provocation and sexual exploitation.

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Many parents, if not all parents, photograph or record their children at some point without any type of clothing and as naked as they were at birth and do not incur any type of crime, so what is the limit? What types of images are considered child pornography and which are not? How can we know if a serious offense has been committed?

What is considered “minor” and who sets the age of legal consent?

According to a Directive approved in October 2011 by the European Parliament, any person under 18 years of age is considered a “minor” and the “age of sexual consent” is defined as the age below which, in accordance with national law, it is prohibited to perform acts of a sexual nature with a minor.

In Spain, the age of sexual consent is 16 years according to the Spanish Penal Code.

• Article 183(1) - Anyone who performs acts of a sexual nature with a minor under sixteen years of age will be punished as responsible for sexual abuse of a minor with a prison sentence of two to six years.

Although also, if there is deception or abuse of a recognized position of trust, authority or influence on the victim with a person over 16 and under 18, it is a crime.

• Article 182 (1) - 1. Anyone who, by deception or abusing a recognized position of trust, authority or influence over the victim, performs acts of a sexual nature with a person over sixteen years of age and under eighteen years of age, will be punished with a prison sentence of one to three years.

However, there is also an exception for cases in which the author is a person close to the minor in age and degree of development or maturity, at the discretion of the judge.

What is considered child pornography?

This same 2011 European Directive defines child pornography as:

• Any material that visually depicts a minor engaging in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct.
• Any representation of the sexual organs of a minor for primarily sexual purposes.
• Any material that visually depicts a person who appears to be a minor engaging in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct or any representation of the sexual organs of a person who appears to be a minor, for primarily sexual purposes.
• Realistic images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct or realistic images of a minor's sexual organs, for primarily sexual purposes.

In Spain, what is our legislation like?

Article 189

1. Shall be punished with a prison sentence of one to five years:

For the purposes of this Title, child pornography or the production of which has been used by people with disabilities in need of special protection is considered:

2. Those who carry out the acts provided for in section 1 of this article will be punished with a prison sentence of five to nine years when any of the following circumstances occur:

3. If the acts referred to in letter a) of the first paragraph of section 1 have been committed with violence or intimidation, the penalty higher in degree than those provided for in the previous sections will be imposed.

4. Anyone who knowingly attends exhibitionist or pornographic shows in which minors or people with disabilities in need of special protection participate will be punished with a sentence of six months to two years in prison.

5. Anyone who acquires or possesses child pornography for his or her own use, or in the production of which people with disabilities in need of special protection have been used, will be punished with a sentence of three months to one year in prison or a fine of six months to two years.

The same penalty will be imposed on anyone who knowingly accesses child pornography or whose production has used people with disabilities in need of special protection, through information and communication technologies.

6. Anyone who has under their power, guardianship, custody or shelter a minor or a person with a disability in need of special protection and who, with knowledge of their state of prostitution or corruption, does not do everything possible to prevent their continuation in such a state, or does not go to the competent authority for the same purpose if they lack the means for the custody of the minor or person with a disability in need of special protection, will be punished with a prison sentence of three to six months or a fine of six to twelve months.

7. The Public Prosecutor's Office will promote the pertinent actions in order to deprive of parental authority, guardianship, guardianship or family foster care, where applicable, to the person who engages in any of the conduct described in the previous section.

8. Judges and courts will order the adoption of the necessary measures for the removal of web pages or Internet applications that contain or disseminate child pornography or in the creation of which people with disabilities in need of special protection have been used or, where appropriate, to block access to them for Internet users who are in Spanish territory.

These measures may be agreed on a precautionary basis at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

What is NOT pornography?

Having seen all this, we come to the conclusion that, obviously, nice, tender or funny photos of our children naked in a bathtub, shower or changing a diaper are not considered pornography nor do we incur any crime, since the intention of these images is not, in any case, for any sexual purpose. The same thing happens when the photograph has a medical purpose for the pediatrician.

However, we must take into account the right to privacy, security and sensitivity of our children and this implies that we must take into account what we share with others via WhatsApp or social networks.

Photos that are shared and that relate to intimate situations can go viral or fall into the hands of people who will not use them with the anecdotal and beautiful intention with which they were initially published.

We must also be aware of this, because in the future our children may feel affronted in their right to privacy, as has already happened in the case of a teenager who went so far as to litigate against her parents because, for years, they published photos of her as children that she considered intimate and that, she claimed, had affected her social relationships.