Why Were Child Porn Charges Against This Doctor Dropped?
An Ogden, UT doctor may have a judge to thank for potentially saving his reputation from being tarnished by child pornography charges. We’ll explain in this entry.
The Case at a Glance
The doctor was arrested in 2013 following an investigation carried out by the Utah Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The officials had been alerted by a computer technician who worked at the same practice as the doctor. During his nightly duties of reviewing the computer logs at the practice, the technician said a child porn site had been viewed by someone using the doctor’s credentials. Specifically, the technician found the record of the site on the practice’s proxy server logs. The doctor was eventually charged with 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was terminated from his position.
Why Did The Judge Dismiss the Charges?
During an evidentiary hearing, a computer forensic expert working with the doctor’s defense team successfully showed that a proxy server record doesn’t necessarily mean that person visited the site. The more reliable way, she said, for knowing with certainty if that person visited the site in question would be records that the doctor went to the site, downloaded photos – or saved them in a file – and viewed them at a later time. After hearing her testimony, the judge ruled that the prosecutors had not produced “believable evidence” and then dismissed all 15 counts against the doctor.
Why Legal Representation is a Must When Charged With Sex Crimes
The case described above is a good example of just how important it is to have a skilled lawyer working for you if you’re facing sex crime charges. A good lawyer will work with professionals in other areas – like the computer forensic expert above – to bring forth facts that can be helpful for the defense.
Accused of a Sex Crime? Call The Oswalt Group
As we’ve written before, sex crimes are nothing to fool around with as they are extremely dangerous and are often difficult to recover from. Due to the many harmful aspects of any sex crimes, prosecutors tend to feel particularly emboldened to seek the harshest penalties the law will allow against perceived offenders. That’s why ineffective defense is among the chief reasons for the lives of otherwise innocent people being ruined. If you’ve been accused of a sex crime, get in touch with us here at The Oswalt Group. The first consultation is always free, so call us at (602) 225-2222.