Federal Child Pornography Charges Dismissed Thanks to Defense Expert
Our internet sex crimes lawyers won a dismissal of all charges in a federal child pornography case. The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, Georgia in the Northern District of Georgia. Our sex crimes lawyers represent clients across the country in federal court.
Our client was a newly minted high school teacher pursuing his dream of educating students. That world was shattered when federal agents raided his home one early morning. Our client was fired from his job and his face was plastered in the news as an alleged child pornographer.
Months after law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized various electronic devices, our client was indicted for possessing and receiving child pornography. You can read about federal child pornography charges and how they are brought here. Before hiring our legal team, our client hired a lawyer who recommended that he enter into a plea agreement with the government. That agreement would have required significant prison time and being placed on the sex offender registry for life.
Our client, however, sought a second opinion and hired us. We immediately reviewed the Government’s evidence, which included a computer forensics report from the FBI. We then hired an independent computer forensics expert to analyze the computer allegedly containing the illegal images.
Our defense expert discovered that the FBI did not locate any actual images on the computer and that the FBI had only found ‘artifacts’ of images that may have been present at some point in the past. Armed with our own expert’s findings, the Government ultimately agreed to drop all charges on the eve of trial. Without an independent forensics expert to contest the Government’s findings, our client likely would have spent years in prison for a crime he never committed.
At Johnson/Citronberg, our legal team uses every resource available to a build a solid defense. In child pornography cases, this typically means hiring an experienced computer forensics expert to challenge the Government’s computer experts. If you or someone you know is facing charges or an investigation relating to child pornography, give our firm a call. If you have already hired a lawyer, we can consult with that lawyer to provide the best defense possible.
