NOT CHARGED | SEXUAL EXPLOITATION of a MINOR/CHILD PORNOGRAPHY (DCAC) – State v. Mr. H. (DMC No. 8011) (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Investigated): Mr. H. was a 26 year old who was going through the application process for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in order to become a Deputy. They administered a polygraph test in which they asked the standard question at whether he had ever looked at any child pornography “inadvertently”. He answered “yes” and explained that it happened while searching for a legitimate adult porn. Based on that statement, a search warrant was obtained and his computers were seized. They indicated that they were going to charge him with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor (Child Pornography) a Dangerous Crimes Against Children (DCAC) pursuant to ARS Section 13-3553. This means that he would be facing a minimum of 10 years in prison for each image found on the computer.
We became involved and had Mr. H. take an independent polygraph examination. In our test Mr. H. was asked if he ever intentionally viewed child pornography and he answered “no” truthfully. We also demonstrated to the Sheriff’s Office that there were multiple people who had access to his computer and then it was not password protected. Therefore, if there were evidence of any specific searches for child pornography, they would not be able to conclusively state that Mr. H. had conducted them. No charges were brought against Mr. H.