United States v. Paul

274 F.3d 155 (2001)

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United States v. Paul

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
274 F.3d 155 (2001)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Ronald Paul (defendant), who had been employed primarily as a truck driver, took his personal computer to be repaired. A technician discovered child pornography on the hard drive and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A background check revealed that Paul had a prior conviction for an offense involving child pornography. After Paul retrieved his computer, FBI agents searched Paul’s residence and seized Paul’s computer. The computer contained numerous downloaded files containing images of child pornography. The agents also seized magazines and books containing photographs of nude children, videotapes of children filmed in public settings, and a bag containing medical supplies and flyers advertising lice removal for children and complete physical examinations requiring children to undress. Email communications on the computer discussed sources of child pornography, and in one email, Paul wrote how easy it was to find “young friends” by befriending single dysfunctional parents. Paul pled guilty to knowingly possessing a computer hard drive with three or more images of child pornography that traveled through interstate commerce. Paul was sentenced to five years of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release with special conditions. On appeal, Paul argued that the district court abused its discretion by imposing a special condition completely restricting Paul’s access to computers and the Internet. Paul maintained that an absolute prohibition on computer and Internet use was overbroad and not justified by the fact that his offense involved a computer and the Internet. He argued that computers and the Internet were now indispensable communication tools and would prohibit him from accessing computers and the Internet for legitimate purposes.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (King, C.J.)

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