United States v. Waguespack

935 F.3d 322 (2019)

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United States v. Waguespack

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
935 F.3d 322 (2019)

  • Written by Tiffany Hester, JD

Facts

Undercover-investigator Louis Ratcliff downloaded hundreds of child-pornography images from a shared folder on a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Ratcliff learned that the images originated from an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the residence of Christopher Waguespack (defendant), who lived with his parents. Officers executed a search warrant at Waguespack’s home and seized a computer from Waguespack’s bedroom. The computer contained software searching for and downloading files with pornographic file names, but antiforensic software prevented the examiners from accessing those files. However, examiners successfully accessed thousands of child-pornography images in a deleted folder in the computer’s unencrypted space. The computer also contained the peer-to-peer file-sharing network software, which notified users when files were shared with others. Examiners discovered that the default settings for the software’s shared folder had been changed. Based on this evidence, the United States charged Waguespack with child-pornography distribution, violating the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA). At trial, Waguespack’s parents testified that Waguespack was proficient with computer technology and was the only one who used the seized computer. The jury convicted Waguespack. Waguespack appealed, arguing that the government failed to prove that Waguespack knew other network users could access files placed in the shared folder on the peer-to-peer network.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Graves, J.)

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