11 Mar Maryland Internet crimes: man uploaded child pornography?

On behalf of Jack B. Rubin, PA posted in Internet Crimes on Monday, March 11, 2013.

A recent case of Internet crime involving a Maryland man has some privacy-rights commentators concerned. A Catholic deacon has been charged with Internet crimes involving images allegedly depicting child pornography stored on the man’s Verizon Online Backup and Storage cloud account. Authorities have now charged the man with the possession of illicit images of children.

Reports indicate that Verizon found the pictures in question during a routine scan of its cloud storage service. They apparently notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is a nongovernmental agency. This agency is known for accepting tips on both child abuse and illegal images involving children. Privacy experts have expressed worry that this could mark the start of a slippery slope as far as Internet providers monitoring user activity is concerned.

Authorities tracked the deacon down at his home, where he was then arrested for the child pornography allegations. He could face severe penalties in the event that prosecutors are able to obtain a conviction for these charges. Of course, community members should remember that not every person who is accused of a crime has actually committed it.

Internet crimes like child pornography should be taken seriously, but Maryland and American law provides for the presumption of innocence for all accused individuals. While this man has been accused of possessing illicit images of children, prosecutors must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before an impartial court. They must present relevant and competent evidence at trial, and the burden of proof rests solely upon the government’s proverbial shoulders. The man has the right to present a defense on his own behalf, but the onus will be on prosecutors to prove the allegations they have made.

Source: eweek.com, “Verizon Reports Illicit Images Scanned in Maryland Man’s Cloud Storage,” Robert Lemos, March 5, 2013