most of these are from outside the country and of course america cannot prosacute forighners thats based on there own countrys laws and how messed up they are.

They didn't throw the book at him. They don't have the authority. Only a
judge or jury can do that, and in this case it looks like a jury is the way to go.

I'd fight it, and make sure the newspapers see how the prosecutor and police
are behaving. The purpose of any real prosecution is to bring criminals
to justice, not rack up notches on the old gunbelt by going after kids who fall
afoul of politicized causes by accident.

The balance in a criminal case is whether or not there is a reasonable doubt,
so don't let those scumbags tell you that "confessing" falsely is in any way the
right thing to do.

Dollars to donuts there's an election coming up, isn't there? Get the reporters
to draw recollection to that prosecutor in that Duke University bogus r4pe
case. Get the judge to put a publication ban on the boy's identity and go for
the throat of those guys while the odds are with you. Don't let them trick you
into silence for any reason. Take advantage of the privacy the judge
gives you to put their faces on papers and TV as many times as you
can. Even if the judge refuses a publication ban, don't hesitate to go to war.

Don't get scared. Get angry. They're going for an easy victim, so you go for blood.
Remind them of the stakes and make sure they know you are more determined
to fight their crime than they are to manufacture one for their own
benefit. They may have money but you have the time and genuinely care,
and that's your advantage.

Of course, get a lawyer to see if the above advice will work in your state.
Some of them are still in the stone age when it comes to real justice.

There's your pep talk, now find a lawyer who agrees with it. Start with the
law students at your boy's college and they'll get things rolling for free and
help you find a defender who values justice over money.

Have fun, and good hunting.

Thank You So Much For Responding And I Do Have A Lawyer In Vt Where It Happened And Nm Where We Live. The Vt Lawyer Sucks But The Nm One May Be Able To Help Us I Am Into This So Far For 20,000. I Read The Police Report And The Charges. They Say He Has A 14 Minute Video And A Picture--again Only 2 Counts -i Am Sure They Can Prove That But It Was Something He Got Off Of Limewire When He Was Downloading Regular Porn--just Like All The Other Posts Talk About When You Search For Reular Porn You Get Kiddie Porn And In My Son's Case It May Have Ruined His Life-

Janegb88

First of all, I would like to wish you and your family all the best as you go through this tough time of trying to rescue your son from his moment of thoughtlessness.

Secondly, I am not a US citizen and so not familiar with US law but here in the UK the law is based on intent, meaning that you intended to do what you did (there is some fancy Latin name for this). Now consider this, as lots of files on the P2P network have been deliberately misnamed, by who no one knows, and so by checking the names on these illegal files it can be shown that your son was not after them but really after legal files. And also most experienced P2P/Limewire users will tell you that most of the time we don’t really know what we are downloading until it’s downloaded or take special precautions (such as Bitzy).

Therefore, if what you say is true, it would be hard pushed for any (proper) legal system to convict on what was an accidental download.

Another small thing to remember, whenever you download stuff USING Limewire you are actually downloading from other P2P users individual PCs, and possibly servers, and P2P users live all over the world.

Anyway, hope your authorities see sense and drop this case against a clearly naive youngster.



UK Bob

Being newish to file sharing I have also had the misfortune to be confronted with horrendouse stuff like this and is quite terrifying. The thought that you have been logged somewhere against it is scary to say the least even accidentaly.
What can you do, who can you go to i have no idea.
As you dont know where it came from you dont know who to alert?
A very depressing state of affairs on a very depressing subject. Which the only solution (you may disagree) is not to file share which is the way I will go.
I am sure it will reduce eventually over time, till then i will give it a miss.
Mach1, a damaged person now.

Yes you can get arrested for accidentally opening child porn on limewire. My brother has been living with this nightmare and we are looking to find others that have been wrogly accused. my brother is not a criminal and has always lived as an extraordinary person, volunteering for various groups and charities. He is a well educated man with a successful career. While looking at adult porn on limewire he opened a file containing child porn and his life has been changed forever. He spent a night in prison, is a convicted felon and ow is a registered sex offender with nightly curfews and visits from the police. It is all very wrong when he is not a criminal and it is a flaw in the system of file sharing. Please is you know of any other cases please contact me and advise others to be careful....file sharing is dangerous!

It took about 6 months before being arrested, then almost a year through the court system. It has been incomprehensible to think the state would invest so much time and money when he is not a true criminal. It now seems like the state wanted him to be a part of the sex offender program because he would boost their numbers for success stories. It really depends on the state. I live in a different state than him and similiar cases are misdemeanors and not a big deal where as his is a felony and he has to register.

a friend a while back was searching on google regarding Chris Langham who was charged with accessing child porn. Due to the recent case of Chris Langham, he interested to know about sex offenders in my area. He typed in 'child porn cases' and sex offenders

He clicked a link and he got this message on the site:

----------------------------------------------------

The American Online Kiddie Porn Page!
Detritus is fully responsible for the creation of everything you will see. We must ask you to disclose your age below before allowing you access to this sensitive area of the web site.


By checking the following box, I am certifying that I am a legal adult, of at least 21 years of age. Furthermore, I will not hold Detritus personally responsible if I happen to be offended by the following presentation.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!
We appreciate your being a part of our ongoing investigation. Our new, state of the art, automated network information gathering and tracking control system has already documented your name, address, telephone number, and other pertinent information. Someone will be contacting you shortly. When our agents arrive to greet you, please be prepared, as they are working under a tight schedule, picking up other American Online deviants who have misplaced their morals.

Please do not attempt to evade us, as any effort to do so would be in vain. As you are reading this, your circle of family, friends, and co-workers are being informed that you have committed this morally, socially, and legally reprehensible act. You will not be permitted to re-enter society until you answer to these charges.

Before you try to fight these allegations and attempt to deny any involvement in criminal activities, please keep in mind how national security organizations operate; it would be far easier for you to end up dead than it would be to wade through the bureaucratic red tape of admitting the mistake of apprehending an innocent person. Perhaps you should admit your guilt while you still can. You are now one of people to have been entered into the database since 11/19/95.
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.
Resistance is futile. Thank you for your cooperation.


A red ribbon, emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League. We're here!

Return to Detritus.
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Congratulations? Send 'em to Big Brother.bigbrother@detritus.org
------------------------------------------------------------------

He was very scared about this and emailed them and is awaiting response

Will the authorities come to his house although he is not from the U.S, but lives in europe? If they do persue him, how long is it before he is questioned or arrested?
Has anyone come across this site, or is it just garbage. Thanks.

It is more likely a pure garbage. The law enforcement agencies are less unlikely to let the real child pornographers know that they are caught or busted.

Your friend should be fine considering that he didn't downloaded any child pornography materials, does he?

My guess, I would like to think that it is one of these anti-child porn vigilants which are generally dimly viewed by the law enforcement for a good reason. They could potentially hamper their operations against the criminals by scaring them away or disrupting it.

It was a reason why FBI, police, and National Center for Missing and Explioted Children generally advise against active vigilanism against the child pornography. The best recommandation as always - report all child pornography to the law enforcement authorities and let them do their own job.

Hmm what measure's are being taken to minimize the exposure of "bs" like this ???