The Role of Digital Evidence in Child Pornography Cases: How It’s Collected and Challenged

Prosecutors of child pornography cases must present evidence proving the existence of child pornography materials and the defendant’s possession or distribution of such materials. As a result, these cases frequently revolve around digital evidence, including digital copies of child pornography materials and data linking a defendant to the crime. When this data is improperly collected, a knowledgeable sex crimes defense attorney can challenge its admissibility and seek to have it excluded.

How Digital Evidence Is Collected

During a police investigation into a child pornography case, investigators may seek digital evidence of the crime and the perpetrator’s identity through various sources. Police may examine the contents of electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and external hard drives. Police may also search for digital evidence online, including in cloud storage accounts, social media platforms, messaging apps, and websites on the dark web.

Law enforcement investigators use various tools to collect digital evidence from hardware and the Internet. First, investigators may obtain search warrants to search a suspect’s home, vehicle, place of business, or other property and seize any electronic devices the officers find. Police may also obtain communications data warrants to collect information from websites, online platforms, or cellular services. Investigators can search through data on physical devices using digital forensics tools, allowing investigators to recover encrypted or deleted data.

Investigators also frequently monitor file-sharing networks to identify individuals suspected of distributing child pornography. Police can identify distributors through their IP addresses, which allows officers to obtain search warrants for the physical address associated with an IP address to recover electronic devices.

The Fourth Amendment and associated case law and statutes govern how police can collect digital evidence in child pornography cases. The Fourth Amendment usually requires police to obtain search warrants based on probable cause to search a suspect’s property and seize items suspected of containing evidence of a crime. However, case law has recognized various exceptions to the warrant requirement, although police still need probable cause to search and seize items.

How to Challenge Digital Evidence in Child Pornography Cases

Defendants facing child pornography charges can challenge the admissibility or reliability of digital evidence in various ways. For example, defendants may seek to exclude digital evidence from the government’s case by arguing that investigators obtained the evidence by violating the defendant’s rights through an unlawful search.

Defendants may also challenge the admissibility of digital evidence on relevance grounds, such as by arguing that the evidence fails to prove a connection between the defendant and the child pornography offense. Finally, defendants may contest the admissibility or reliability of evidence by highlighting issues regarding the evidence’s authenticity or integrity, which can raise questions of tampering or mistaken swapping of evidence.

Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney Today

If you’ve been charged with child pornography offenses, you need experienced legal counsel to help you navigate the digital evidence in your case. Contact DiCaudo, Pitchford & Yoder today for a confidential consultation with our legal team to discuss your options for pursuing a favorable resolution to your criminal charges.