State v. Mr. H (DMC No. 16913) – High Profile Media Case of (2 Counts) Felony Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor/Child Pornography (Dangerous Crimes Against Children) – Dismissed (Due to Lack of Evidence) – Gila County Superior Court (Case No. CR2018-00188)
Mr. H was a Special Needs teacher in Arizona. In a very High Profile Media Case, he was accused of downloading 2 images of Child Pornography and was Charged with Felony Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The accusations were that this occurred while he was on school grounds during work hours.
The Charges originated when the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children (AZICAC) received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Detectives were told that there was a Pinterest account that had two photographs downloaded. One was of a female who was 12 years of age, and it showed her bare butt; however, her chest and genital areas were away from the camera and not exposed. The second image showed two naked females from the waist up, but they were covering their nipples with their hands.
It was ultimately determined that the IP address for all devices connected to the school’s network would connect into a school device and the IP network, or any personal device that was using the wi-fi connection and password. The Police ultimately issued a Search Warrant and raided Mr. H’s house, in which they took all of his electronic devices. No browsing history existed on those devices.
Ultimately, the Doctor at Child Help who was assigned to determine the age of the females, stated that she could not do so, since no genitalia was shown in the photos. Based on this information, we met with the Prosecutor and explained that these images did not even qualify as Child Pornography. Ultimately, after the Prosecutor spoke with the Detective (in which other problems were discovered – that were not shared with us), she Dismissed all Charges against Mr. H.
Originally, Mr. H was facing Decades in Prison, but instead he now has a Clean Rrecord and is a free man today.