It is clear that with the advent of the internet, more and more people are being arrested for possession and distribution of child pornography in both state and federal court.  The latest example is former school board teacher, Daniel Mays, who was arrested at his home in Rialto on  Tuesday. Interestingly enough, the way that the authorities supposedly became aware that he possessed child pornography was after Mr. Mays had taken his laptop to a computer repair shop and the person working on his computer reported him.  This is certainly a less common form of detection than the undercover agents who troll internet chat rooms, and sites like limewire and Kazaa looking for persons trading, offer to trade, or uploading/downloading child pornography.

The penalties for child pornography possession are extremely harsh in California both in state and federal court.  A person accused in either criminal court faces years of prison time and registration for life as a sex offender.  Given how dire these consequences can be, it is crucial for a defense attorney to review the forensics in a child pornography a case to determine whether there really is sufficient proof that the person knowingly possessed the inappropriate image  and that the images truly depict minors under the age of 18.