Criminal Defense
“Sexting” Can Lead to Jail Time and Being Registered as a Sex Offender
Recently a well known 18 year old actor decided to "get back" at his 16 year old girlfriend by sending naked photos via text message of the minor to several people, an act known as "Sexting". The 16 year old became upset and told her parents. Her parents told local police. The 18 year old will likely regret this decision for the remainder of his life. He was arrested by…
Read MoreCalifornia Personal Possession of Child Pornography
"Personal Possession" of Child Pornography Can Be Supported By Many Different Forms of Circumstantial Evidence In Tecklenburg v. Superior Court, child pornography was found in the defendant's home on the family computer. The defendant argued that the child pornography was not his and that it may have been the result of accidental internet use or involuntary computer pop-ups. The prosecution set forth evidence that the size and format of the…
Read MoreCalifornia Child Pornography
Simultaneous Possession of Multiple Child Pornography Materials in Multiple Computers at the Same Location is Chargeable, But As One Violation of State Law In People v. Manfredi, the defendant was found with multiple images of child pornography in his home on multiple computers, hard drives, discs and tapes. As a result, the prosecutor filed several counts of possession of child pornography under Penal Code section 311.11. The defendant argued that…
Read MoreInternet Sex Crimes in California Includes Obscene Electronic Communication With Minor
Be careful who you chat with on the Internet With the advent of the computer world, there is more and more legislation regarding proper and improper use of the internet. Recent California laws make it a crime to e-mail or electronically communicate with a child under 18. (288.2, 288.3, and 288.4 of the California Penal Code.) In certain situations, even mistake of age could still get you in trouble with…
Read MoreCalifornia Sex Crimes and Internet Crimes Involving Minors
Sexual Internet Crimes The internet gives us the freedom to look at anything we want. But what happens when looking is not enough? People will often look at adult content on the internet and some of it is not adult at all. This brings us to the act of looking at underage photos and/or videos on the internet. But what happens when those people who look at underage photos and/or…
Read MoreInternet Sex Crimes Can Start in a Chat Room
Be careful on the Internet If you find yourself in a chat room or talking to someone online, be careful of the age of that other person. California makes it a crime to discuss sexual matters online to someone who is under 18 years old, or somoene who you "think" is under 18 years old. Police throughout California have received grants from the federal government seeking to crack down on…
Read MoreNEW DEVICE HELPS COPS INVESTIGATE COMPUTER CRIMES
Microsoft has developed a small plug-in device that investigators can use to quickly extract forensic data from computers that may have been used in internet crimes. The "COFEE," which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, is a USB "thumb drive" that Microsoft distributes to law enforcement agencies investigating computer related crimes. COFEE contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is…
Read More“SOCK-PUPPETING” MAY LEAD TO CRIMINAL CHARGES
For the uninitiated, the term "sock-puppet" is used in reference to the Internet to describe a situation where a person creates a fake online identity, usually for the purpose of deception. While it might seem obvious that, for instance, if a person makes up a false identity, and posts an ad offering to sell a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth for $10,000, but the poster has no such baseball, and…
Read MoreTHERE IS NO PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET
According to a recent report on , this point was made clear recently to a group of teenage girls in New York, who apparently videotaped themselves confronting a younger girl, and then slapping and kicking the girl in the head and body. The girls then apparently posted the video footage of the beating on YouTube. After police discovered the video, the girls were all arrested and charged with attempted assault.…
Read MoreHOW EASY SHOULD IT BE FOR YOUR UNCLE (YOUR UNCLE SAM THAT IS) TO SNOOP THROUGH YOUR E-MAIL ACCOUNT?
A recent opinion by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently addressed this issue. Warshack v. United States (6th Cir. Dkt. 06-4092, 6/18/2007). In this case, the US government was investigating Mr. Warshack for suspected mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and other federal crimes and they wanted to obtain Mr. Warshack's stored e-mails from his internet service provider. Typically, before government investigators can obtain personal…
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