Right there with you. How long has this been going on and when will he return home?

Everything started end of 2014. He went to trial and was found guilty a year ago (2016). He received 7 years and is set to be released in early 2023. There has been a lot of ups and downs in these few years, but I feel our situation is better than most and I’m just trying to stay positive. How long has it been for you guys? Will he be home soon? I was so happy to have found this group and to see there were other women supporting their significant others as I am.

My son is now going through this? He got 10 years probation and and sex offender label. In 1 of the worst states for that to happen, Florida. My son just started his probation 2 weeks ago. this is so terrible. He has to live on the side of the road in my Jeep. I cant find us a place to live.His probation officer is on some power trip. Need to find out how to get his PO changed

ww32809 - seems your son and my husband had the same thing happen. Downloading with P2P not knowing it contained CP. I feel like this is happening more often and our loved ones are going to prison and having to register as a SO, which not only affects their lives, but our lives as well when they didn't even know it was happening. This subject upsets me so much because they assumed it was my husband, even though they had no evidence that could prove he was the person sitting at the computer at the time it was downloaded or whether or not it was viewed. It's such bullshit. Anyway, before I go on a rant - I'll end it here. I am so sorry you and your son are going through this. I pray that you both will be able to find a place where you feel comfortable and is approved by his PO.

8 years ago when my son was 19 he accidentally downloaded 3 cp among over 2300 music videos. He was charged with 1 count and had to take a plea. Went to federal prison when he was 20 turning 21. He's now 27, after spending 27 months in the joint, he has 15 years supervised release. We're going in to try to get that cut back. This happened in Floriduh and I moved to Philly a year before his release so he wouldn't be stuck down there. Life isn't too bad here in Philly.. He's on his 5th PO in 4 years.. but this one might not be as bad as the other 4. For people who are innocent.. and we have the forensics to prove he didn't watch them, this is a nightmare. He would have such a different life if he didn't have to deal with this crap. Nak

Nak, I'm so sorry you and your son are going through this as well. My husband did not take a plea, he went to trial to fight it, but lost. We thank our lucky stars though, because he could have received a lot more time. The plea would have been 4-6 years (mostly like 6 because the prosecutor was a ....); probation recommended 7, which is what the judge went with. We are in the appeals process right now and are hopeful that it goes well. And you are so right, this is such a nightmare.

My son was in the military and overseas, at the age of 20, when he downloaded a P2P file. He said when he did it, he didn't realize how bad it was but there was CP in the file and he deleted all the CP. He was interrogated and they made him feel like a pedophile. He entered a plea bargain and did 13 mos. He was looking at up to 10 years. He is now home, where he has to be a RSO for the rest of his life. We're just dealing with this the best way we know how. I believe this punishment is too severe. I could understand if he had touched someone or hurt someone, he has never done anything like that. He has lost all his benefits, has a felony conviction, a dishonorable discharge, and is now a RSO. He is now 23. He went to temp force to apply for jobs, and they basically announced his status to everyone in the office. He also had to go get his license stamped in red here. He has to go to the sheriff's office every 3 mos and report his whereabouts, and a deputy comes once per month for a surprise visit to make sure where he is staying. His and our lives are changed. This is our new normal. It's sad, but we're just trying to make the best of it.

Ren10, my husband was also in the military. He was going through the med board process and was approved for medical retirement, all he had to do was sign. When this happened, they put everything on hold, and he had to take an "other than honorable" discharge. He was not even found guilty at that point. We are doing the best we can with our situation. I know once he's out, it will be a whole new set of challenges, but I'll just be happy our family is whole again.

My boyfriend of 5 years was recently charged with possession and distribution of CP because of a P2P sharing site. He was downloading and sharing porn, and there were some images and videos of CP in some of the files. He has been in the local county jail for 5 months now, and we still don't have any idea of what is going to happen. We are hoping they will offer him a decent plea deal because we have been told that going to trial for these cases is not the best outcome. I am just worried about what will happen when he gets out. We have children together, and I'm worried they won't let him see our kids or even live with us. I will admit, it's slightly discouraging to read some of the stories here, but at least it's a reality check. We aren't sure what to expect, but I'm trying to keep myself prepared for the worst. I don't think he will get out of this with no prison time or more jail time, but at least the time he has done now will go towards time served.

cwalkup329 Get your own forensics done. We got forensics that proved the 3 cp that came in with 2300 music videos was an accident. He still had to take a plea, went to prison and is now on his 4th year probation. BUT we have this proof and I'm hoping, some day it helps him rid of the label.

My son was indicted in June by the FBI and charged with 3 charges possession, distribution and of CP on Torrent while downloading "regular" porn. Once he saw the CP he deleted it. He has been on house arrest since. We have heard nothing from his federal public defender since, ( there are no federal pubic defenders here, the closest is in Pittsburgh, 100 miles away). He has no reco rd and is currently awaiting a decision on disability for ADD, Asbergers etc. We have no idea what's going to happen. How do you go about the forensics pretrial and how much is it?

I have to disagree about the forensic computer expert.

If the government finds illicit images or videos on the hard drive or any digital device, they will charge the individual with either receipt or possession of CP. If they find the images in the “shared” folder of a P2P program, they will add a distribution charge.

Unless the accused can somehow prove that the images were there b/c of a virus----VERY unlikely---or that someone else downloaded the images, he will be charged.

The government does not really care how the images found their way on the hard drive, but only that they are there. If they find images, it is difficult to argue that the accused is not guilty of possession; after all, the images are there---and that constitutes possession.

The fact that the government seems not to care how the images got there is unfair, but that is the nature of CP investigations.

Nak mentioned that she hired a forensic computer guy and did it help? No, even though the computer person found that the 3 illicit images were downloaded by mistake, did it help her son?? No, he still pled guilty and went to prison. Maybe from a psychological standpoint Nak and her son felt better knowing that the images were downloaded by mistake, but it made no difference in the charges.

This is particularly true if images are downloaded from a P2P file sharing program. Law enforcement has already seen the illicit files in the shared folder and may have even downloaded a few of them from the accused for evidence, so obviously the files were there. They only have to determine the IP address of the computer, find out who the ISP is, and issue a subpoena to that ISP to find the physical address of the computer. Then they get another search warrant for the house at the physical address and they raid the house.

On another note, defendants don’t usually get caught on a P2P for downloading, but for sharing---having the illegal file in their shared folder. And what some people don’t realize is that in most P2P programs, an illegal file can be shared before it even completes its download. In a P2P program, someone else can upload the very file as it is being downloaded.

I can only think of two cases in the past six or seven years---out of thousands of cases--- in which a computer forensics expert ever made a difference. In both instances, a virus was the cause of the download and the prosecutor dropped the charges.

A much better investment---and one I recommend---is for the accused to hire a health professional to do a psychosexual evaluation on the accused. A positive psychosexual examination will show that the offender is a very low risk to reoffend or be a continuing threat to society. Your attorney will know about these evaluations, so mention it to him.

These evaluations are important as they are done by a unbiased health professional, whom judges respect. Submitting a positive psychosexual evaluation to the DA can help in the plea negotiation stage for a lighter sentence or to the judge at sentencing. They are much less likely to render a more severe sentence if the offender is not considered a danger to reoffend.

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Yes, our forensics helped in that it lowered his score a few points. And that his forensics and the company that did it told us that they would always be there for him if we could do something more about it.
His forensics reported that he never searched those words the FEds said he did, and that the 3 that were downloaded were obviously accidental and never looked at.

I'm sorry.. but I have his proof of innocence.. and the Floriduh Innocence Project said we had a good defense. They never helped because he didn't have a lifetime in prison.

But we have it and we'll use it.. not sure when but I feel it will help in someway some day.

Proof of innocence is important and we have it. Even tho the prosecutor and plea agreement were lies.

When we moved here to Philly all the 6 lawyers we went to were shocked they even took him to court, because of the forensics. I feel that if we weren't in Floriduh he wouldn't be going thru this right now.

Rew is correct. Even having a cp on your computer even tho you didn't know it was there is illegal. And also not reporting it if you see it is also illegal.

My son also went thru that psychosexual evaluation and it was enough.. plus the judge new my son was innocent... that the judge gave my son mental health treatment upon being released from prison and not SO Treatment.. so my son didn't have to take SO treatment because of that evaluation. which we had to pay a lawyer when my son was release another $5K to get that straightened out with the court . His PO and supervisor wouldn't let the SO treatment go until we did that here in Philly. That evaluation cost us $2500