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False accusations, confiscated property, and more.

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zaxiom

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

Ok, so I'll try my best to break this down with every detail so I can get any kind of idea as to what recourse I may have.

In the middle of March, two FBI agents and a local narcotics detective showed up at my house. The wanted to talk to my stepdad, who wasn't home, about something. They waited for him to show up and the told me to wait in my room. About 15 minutes pass and the detective comes into my room and asks if I know why he's there. I say no and he proceeds to tell me they know I have been downloading, viewing, and distributing child pornography and that I should fess up right now to make things easier on myself. I replied the only way reasonable, I don't know what the hell your talking about. So they asked to search my room and asked me if there were any pictures of kids in there they needed to know about. I said it was ok to search because I knew I had nothing to hide. Before you say it, I realize that was the dumbest move well second dumbest, the first was letting them in the house at all (they didn't have ANY warrants for ANYTHING)

Ok so they search my room and find nothing. In the living room I get the whole story. Sometime at the end of last year, someone using our IP address downloaded a program known to be used by child pornographers and communicated with an undercover FBI agent. Whoever it was sent and received videos with this person. So they tracked the IP and voila, showed up at our doorstep. The whole talking to an undercover sounds like entrapment anyway, but thats another thread. Let me go ahead and say this, while they were talking to my stepdad he told them to search anything they wanted and that all the computers in the house were his. Innocent enough, he thought. So I corrected the officers about two of the computers, one was mine and one was my brothers. They asked to search mine and I refused. I had already called my lawyer at this point. I told them when they get a search warrant for it, then they can have it. They searched the parents PC and then the FBI agents called their commanding who said they COULD NOT take my computer. Well the city detective would have none of it, he called his commanding who told him they could hold mine and my brothers computer until they had a warrant because my reaction was suspicious and it was an exigent circumstance. They took both laptops to be forensically scanned for any traces of child pornography. They, of course, told my mom they knew it was me and that they would be really surprised if they didn't find something, etc.

Here we are nearly three months later and the computers have been cleared of any illegal activities or materials. My mom has been calling the detective weekly, the FBI closed the investigation, to see about how long it would be until we got them back. They happened to take them when I was in summer classes online and really needed a computer. Classes are about to start again and I am still without my lifeline. So just yesterday she called and was told they were both cleared but there was no clear timeline for their release since the paperwork had to be done right. No apology or anything, just a yeah their clear you'll get them when we feel like picking them up. Now that were (hopefully) within a week of all this being over, I have questions about procedure and recourse.

They told my family that me and/or my brother were pedophiles who traded child pornography. Flipped my room all to hell and didn't touch any other part of the house. Took the two computers against our will, I know the consent to search PROBABLY did give them authority. And now, are not in any big hurry to give them back.

1. Are search warrants public records in KY? If I were to file a report/suit could I get a copy of the evidence provided to the judge to get a signature?

2. Since they found NOTHING on our computers, would it be plausible to file any kind of civil rights violation claim? The humiliation and intimidation were horrendous. The first week after all this I couldn't eat or sleep without having nightmares that they would kick in my door and arrest me.

3. Any course of action is not worth the money probably, but what avenues are there? Can I get a copy of their records even though we weren't charged? If it has my name in it shouldn't I be able to see it? To validate my claim.

I know this is more emotional than anything, but the way we have been treated is just disgusting. I don't want to think that every cop acts like this, but the department left a very sour taste in my mouth. Since we haven't received the property yet, I'm staying low, but when it's in my hands I want his life to be a living hell. His sergeant supported him because he came to our house too near the end of that day. A judge signed a search warrant that invaded my private life deeper than anything else could have (my life is on my computer). When we finally get our stuff back it will just be a procedure, no sorry we thought you were a pedophile and told your mom to be careful. Sorry we took your property for three months for no good reason.

I just need some rational advice about what to do, if anything. It's so hard to think I could just let it go.
 



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