Virginia Norfolk Child Pornography Possession In Internet Cache Prosecution

Virginia Norfolk Child Pornography Possession In Internet Cache Prosecution

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Michael E. Gardner

CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

FACTS:

Defendant made a motion to dismiss pending charges of possession of child pornography in violation of Va. Code Ann. 18.2-374.1:1. Defendant also made a motion to suppress.

ISSUES:

The issue here is whether images of child pornography that were contained in a "temporary internet cache denoted possession'.

DISCUSSION:

At the time the police arrested the defendant they seized his computer. It was subjected to a forensic analysis by Investigator Bowers, who found a number of images of child pornography on it. These images were contained in a "temporary internet cache." the operator of the defendant's computer visited websites that contained images of child pornography, viewed them, but took no further action. The "knowing" possession of child pornography is essential to constitute an offense under this statute. Knowledge is an essential ingredient in the crime of possession of child pornography. Knowledge that a defendant had child pornography on his computer could be shown by the defendant's statements, his knowledge of the operational features of his computer, his general computer sophistication, or other factors. In the present case, the defendant said "I don't have too much" in response to a question about the presence of child pornography on his computer. Based on the statement attributed to the defendant, and other evidences, it is evident that the Defendant knowingly possessed child pornography.

JUDGMENT:

The court denied the motions to dismiss and to suppress.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

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