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Indecent images and child protection: Ross Patel from Afentis Forensics examines the role of the expert witness.

Indecent images and child protection: Ross Patel from Afentis Forensics examines the role of the expert witness.Forensic evaluations put the evidence into context and can reveal elements of the case that had previously been unconsidered – which in turn can create significant defence/prosecution case opportunities.In the majority of cases where contact forensics play a role, such as fingerprints at the scene of crime, a defendant may naturally ‘put the crown to proof’ before deciding on whether to enter a basis of plea with the support of the legal team. In such cases, the defence will naturally instruct an ‘expert witness’ to independently examine the evidence and determine whether there is anything that might materially support or undermine the defence case.However, in many instances technical evidence is regarded as scientifically perfect and as such a defence is crafted around the findings and attacks against the prosecution case are not made in a head-on fashion. The lack of expert support to assess the technical evidence can place the client at considerable disadvantage.For example, consider the presence of illegal child abuse imagery upon a computer drive. It is important to independently verify the presence and relative severity ranking assigned by the prosecution, but far more important is the detail and story behind the data: when was the file created, was it ever subject to modification, where did it come from, was it sent to a third party, is there peripheral evidence to suggest who was at the keyboard at the time of offence?Finding out the answers to these questions and more helps contextualise the evidence and even in cases of accepted guilt can offer a degree of mitigation that may be taken into account by the courts.It is important to note that computer forensic consultants that provide expert witness services in respect of indecent images and media must be of the highest calibre and it is necessary for their facilities to be inspected and approved for the undertaking of such work by a Police authority. Here are some common questions that need to be addressed:1.If indecent images have been deleted from the computer can an individual still be charged with possession?2. Can images, which are essentially binary computer code consisting of 1’s and 0’, be considered illegal?3. Does making a file available for download indicate exposure or distribution?4. Is it possible that a website displaying child pornography could pop up on the screen unrequested by the user?5.. How valid is the ‘Trojan Horse’ or ‘Third Party’ defence?6. The computer hard disk is second-hand – could the illegal media have originated from actions attributable to the former owner?7.. Obscene media is identified on a shared computer – can the material be attributed to an individual user?You can find the answer to these questions by downloading ‘The Dark Side of the Web: Child Pornography’ from the Afentis Forensics website www.afentis.com

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