Under federal law, people who download child porn can theoretically be ordered to pay damages to the child who was victimized by the photo. In Texas, prosecutors tried to get one defendant to pay $3.4 million to the child whose photos he downloaded, but the judge refused to go along. From the Christian Science Monitor:
Congress did not stop there. The law includes a provision for mandatory payment of "the full amount of the victim's losses" without regard to the economic circumstances of the defendant or whether the victim has received or might receive compensation from other sources.
Thus, federal prosecutors sought $3,367,854 in restitution from Paroline – the full amount of compensation for Amy's earlier sexual abuse and the ongoing traffic in her images.
Judge Davis said it was too much. An order requiring Paroline to pay Amy the entire estimated restitution would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on excessive punishments, the judge said in an 18-page opinion.
