Evidence in Maryland Federal Child Pornography Cases
If you are being charged or investigated for child pornography in Maryland here is what you should know about the types of evidence that will be used against you and what an experienced attorney can do to refute this evidence. To learn more about child pornography cases, call and schedule a consultation with a Maryland federal child pornography lawyer today.
Biggest Mistake To Avoid When Being Investigated For Child Pornography in Maryland
The biggest mistake that somebody needs to avoid is letting a government official have access to your electronics, your home, or any other property of yours by simply consenting to it. Make them get a warrant. Make them present a judge with the information that’s necessary to obtain that warrant so that your rights are not violated. The second thing to remember is even if you are properly searched, a search is properly conducted on your home, and items are properly seized, you still want to make sure not to give any kind of a statement to the government that might impact your ability to have a proper representation or a proper defense brought in your case.
In these kinds of cases where electronics or your electronic activity is so heavily instrumental in the government’s ability to try and prove the case, it is often difficult for prosecutors to demonstrate who was conducting the online activity—particularly if somebody is using a computer that other people have access to—without that person’s confession or statement. People often get themselves into trouble by simply admitting to the police that they did something wrong and then assisting the government in the prosecution against them when their original intent was just to be cooperative with the government.
How Evidence in Child Pornography Cases is Different
If you have cases where somebody is charged with murder, for example, there’s not going to be a lot of online evidence that is associated with that case.
What we’re going to be talking about in those situations are eyewitnesses, police officers who investigated the situation on the scene, medical examiners, or things like that. In child pornography cases, these days the most obvious way to catch people involved in violations of this statute is to track their online performance or online behavior. What’s unique about this evidence is that it is all electronic and the method for the government to prosecute these kinds of cases is very different than it would be if they were simply prosecuting somebody for a crime other than child pornography.
How Can a Maryland Federal Child Pornography Lawyer Refute This Evidence?
The most important thing to remember is procedure. If there were problems with the way the evidence was collected or gathered, that will be one of the easiest ways to refute the evidence or keep it from being a part of the record in a criminal proceeding. Other options for refuting the evidence will be that you did not have the intent or knowledge of the crime that you’re being accused of. This means that you did not have any intention to be in possession of the thing that you are alleged to have been in possession of.
Another defense might be that you did not have access or were not the only one with access to your electronic devices and therefore any number of people—either coworkers, people who live in your home with you, or others that might have access to this material—might have been the ones that were responsible for its presence on your particular devices.