Alexandria Child Pornography Investigations
Following an arrest for child pornography, you may find yourself the subject of an investigation. Alexandria child pornography investigations are often quite thorough and can have serious implications, regardless of what is found. If you are the subject of a child pornography arrest, consider consulting a capable child pornography lawyer. An experienced attorney could work tirelessly to protect your rights during the investigation and ensure that you receive a fair trial.
Agencies Involved in Child Pornography Investigations
The local agencies that are typically involved in Alexandria child pornography investigations are the City of Alexandria Police Department and the detectives associated with investigating such things. They work together with a federal task force that deals specifically with investigating these kinds of cases. People need to understand that even though local prosecution is handling the case, some level of federal government involvement is involved when talking about and defending child pornography cases.
The involvement of federal agencies comes into place when dealing with child pornography because the feds investigate alongside local law enforcement. Usually, there is a behind the scenes conversation that happens with law enforcement to determine whether or not they are going to prosecute the person in federal court or the state courts. The vast majority of cases involve some level of federal involvement, and it is up to them to decide whether or not they want to charge the person in federal court or in state court.
Child Pornography Investigation Process
In terms of talking about the how the investigation process of child pornography possession cases are conducted, the first step in the vast majority of these cases begins with a tip from an internet service provider, which tells them that child pornography has crossed their airwaves. As a result, they begin to investigate the IP address associated with the child pornography. The law enforcement agencies determine the name and address of the person associated with that IP address. Once they have done that, typically the next step is the execution of a search warrant. They go into the person’s home, usually late at night or early in the morning when people are still in bed and seize all electronic devices from phones to computers and tablets. Sometimes, they even take the router. They leave with all that stuff and take it to their laboratory to evaluate and determine whether or not there is child pornography evidence on any of those devices that they seized.
Additionally, when they execute the search warrant, they also ask the person point blank if there is anything to find and tell that person that they are investigating them for child pornography. They want to know what the person has to say about it. With that question in that situation, the best and smartest thing that anybody could do is not to say anything. They do not want to tell lies to the government, because if they catch them in those lies it makes their case worse. The best thing to do is to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to remain silent and say nothing without the presence of a lawyer.
Defense Investigations
During Alexandria child pornography investigations, the defense may investigate the case themselves. Some important aspects of defenses from prior investigations in the system pertain to age and the situation. Defense investigations are critical in this type of cases because they need to know how old the offense seems to be. They need to be able to establish the nature of the evaluations and whether or not the government’s version of what happened and how this came to be is accurate. In a lot of cases, their version is wrong and only the scout’s defense’s investigation reveals that.
Important Tools for Attorneys During Child Pornography Investigations in Alexandria
The most important resource for an attorney to have in child pornography cases is the use of an expert witness. It is critical to be able to determine with specificity exactly what the government is saying someone did or in some cases failed to do, whether or not they are able to prove that, and whether or not the forensics are accurate. It is not something that most attorneys are capable of sorting out on their own. There are few lawyers that are IT savvy. Instead, a lawyer would consult with an expert witness who knows about those things. They help sort out what it is that they are saying and whether or not they could prove it against the individual. It is a critical resource in any forensic case. If an individual wants to know more about what tools are necessary during Alexandria child pornography investigations, they should consult a capable attorney that could answer their questions and protect their rights during an investigation.
