Computer confiscated by law enforcement

I monitor a PUBLIC site that allows folks to ask legal questions and get responses from lawyers in their state. From time to time I will post "verbatim" relevant entries and their responses, but protecting their privacy.

11-16-2008 Somewhere National:


QUESTION: My Computer was used to download illegal porn..

My computer is located in my place of business. At my business I allowed many people to use it for sending emails and some customers to download music and games from Limewire. I don't know a lot about computers and I had no idea that someone or some people would download this type of garbage on my computer. The FBI came by and wanted to check my computer so I allowed them to do that. They told me that they had a report from somewhere that illegal porn was downloaded on my computer. When they looked at the computer there as all kinds of porn and illegal photos somewhere in the computer. I had no idea, and If I had known how or saw it I would have deleted that garbage. The FBI picked up my computer and said they would have to keep it for evidence. Now what can I do?

I do know the names of all those people. I only know that most of them were my customers and a lot of them were young students from the local high school wanting to down music. If I had known I would never had let them use my computer. I operate a Barber Shop and a locale newspaper here in my business.


ANSWER:

Lawyer-1: You will need an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately. Even though you may not have accessed those images and/or may not have known they were even on your computer, the State and/or Federal government can still charge you with possession of illegal pornographic material, which is a very serious charge with life-altering consequences.

My firm does handle cases such as this; however, it is based in the Tampa Bay area. I do have a good friend who is an excellent criminal trial attorney in the Jacksonville area and would be more than happy to set up an introduction. He would definitely be able to assist you with this type of case.

If you are interested in his services, please contact my law firm and I can answer any questions that you may have.

Lawyer-2: It's not illegal to have some types of porn on your computer. However, other types of porn, such as child porn, carry serious consequences, usually prison time.

Also, it isn't a crime to have less than $2500 worth of unlicensed movies, music, or software on your computer, though you could be sued for it.

You need an attorney immediately. If nothing else, your story is suspicious. Why would a member of an anti-porn group allow high-schoolers free access to his computer without installing anti-porn software or checking the computer often to be sure it's free of illegal material?

It looks more like you were using the porn on your computer to ATTRACT teenagers.