Polk County State Attorney says he will pursue suspects accused of possessing, trading and, in some cases, even creating child pornography. We learned that the operation is called Operation Child Shield. State Attorney Jerry Hill, whose jurisdiction, the 10th Judicial Circuit, also covers Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties, says “the penalty which prosecutors pursue is always tough” says TBO.com .
Hill also said prosecutors in his office have never dropped a child porn case involving any of the more than 150 people rounded up in recent months in Polk in several multi-month law enforcement operations. “These cases are just simply not dropped. These cases are not diverted. They’re treated about as seriously as anything in this office,” Hill told TBO.com.
When prosecutors aggressively pursue these cases, a forensic examination of the computers seized, the methods used, and the Search Warrant issued in the case need to be carefully reviewed for flaws that may force a court to do what this prosecutor says he never does.
Computer Crimes? Tell Me Your Story Toll Free 1-877-793-9290 .
Tampa Florida Federal Criminal Defense Attorney, Lawyer W.F. ”Casey” Ebsary notes that Computer crimes draw stiff sentences in Federal Courts. However, at a United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) hearing in Chicago, a Judge said it would give him comfort in affirming below-guideline sentences in child porn cases to see data showing there are lots of below guidelines sentences. There is such data.
In the first three quarters of 2009, judges sentenced below the guideline range in 503 of 1195 cases (42%) and the government moved for a below-guideline sentence in another 128 cases (10.7%), 101 of which were for reasons other than 5K1.1, that is, for reasons under 3553(a). See USSC Preliminary Data Report, Table 5.
The complete Report is at the link below:
If you have a computer problem in Federal or State Court – Tell Me Your Story Toll Free 1-877-793-9290.