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  1. #1

    Child porn suspect jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt hard drives

    It's like that XKCD cartoon where the criminal gloats that nobody can decrypt his drive but then authorities hit him with a wrench until he agrees to comply.


    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...t-hard-drives/

    A Philadelphia man suspected of possessing child pornography has been in jail for seven months and counting after being found in contempt of a court order demanding that he decrypt two password-protected hard drives.

    The suspect, a former Philadelphia Police Department sergeant, has not been charged with any child porn crimes. Instead, he remains indefinitely imprisoned in Philadelphia's Federal Detention Center for refusing to unlock two drives encrypted with Apple's FileVault software in a case that once again highlights the extent to which the authorities are going to crack encrypted devices. The man is to remain jailed "until such time that he fully complies" with the decryption order.

    The suspect's attorney, Federal Public Defender Keith Donoghue, urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to release his client immediately, pending the outcome of appeals. "Not only is he presently being held without charges, but he has never in his life been charged with a crime," Donoghue wrote (PDF) in his brief to the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The government successfully cited a 1789 law known as the All Writs Act to compel (PDF) the suspect to decrypt two hard drives it believes contain child pornography.

    The authorities have called two witnesses. One was the suspect's sister who claimed she looked at child pornography with her brother at his house. The other was a forensic examiner who testified that it was his "best guess" that child pornography was on the drives," Donoghue wrote. The investigation began in 2015 when Pennsylvania prosecutors were monitoring the online network Freenet and executed a search warrant of the man's home.

    Donoghue wrote that investigators had decrypted a Mac Pro using a recovery key discovered on the iPhone 5S the authorities seized from his client's residence. He said no child pornography was found. The authorities want the suspect to decrypt two external drives discovered in the search.
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  2. #2
    So has the sister been arrested as well for admitting to viewing child pornography? Do search warrants include hard drives nowadays?

    Though if there was nothing on them, why wouldn't he decrypt them? Suppose stuff could be planted, seems like authorities are desperately trying to get him on something.

    I'll go ahead and choose his side. Using his clearly vindictive sister and a "best guess" forensic examiner as witnesses is hilarious.
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD
    PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD

  3. #3
    The All Writs Act needs to be changed badly

  4. #4
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Pretty sure it's unconstitutional to imprison someone indefinitely.
    'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
    Or a yawing hole in a battered head
    And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
    And there they lay I damn me eyes
    All lookouts clapped on Paradise
    All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

  5. #5
    want to leave prison, give the password, unless of course, you have child porn on those hard drives.............

  6. #6
    something something 4th something

  7. #7
    The Insane Underverse's Avatar
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    Is it illegal to view child porn? Manufacturing and distribution - obviously - but I wasn't aware that viewing it was a criminal activity. If so, it seems unprecedented to me.

    Either way, holding someone indefinitely without charges strikes me as unconstitutional.

  8. #8
    Child porn or not, no justice system can demand you to help them to solve the crime you have committed, for them. Forced self-incrimination only leads to dangerous waters.

    Not to mention he is only suspected for a crime...Yet we have, as always, people screaming for blood and vengeance.
    Last edited by Saradain; 2016-04-28 at 03:03 AM.

  9. #9
    I know judges lock up people for contempt, refusing to answer a question, provide evidence or whatever. I think there is usually a limit on how long they can jail someone, probably the same sentence as the crime the are being accused of or something. There have been reporters jailed for years for not revealing a source when a judge orders them to.
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  10. #10
    Brewmaster Darkrulerxxx's Avatar
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    im pretty sure this is all kinds of illegal the government is doing to this guy.

    there's a little law that declares you have the right to not self incriminate aka 5th amendment. It doesnt matter if he has child porn in his drives or not, they cannot hold him without charging him officially and they can't do that without decrypting the drive.

    in other words, he needs to be freed and sue the hell out of the authorities who put him in prison for that amount of time.

    however, the authorities can keep the drives indefinitely if they want to try to crack the device.....most likely will never though.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    Pretty sure it's unconstitutional to imprison someone indefinitely.
    If he's held in contempt of court he essentially holds the keys to his cell...as soon as he is willing to comply with the court order he will be released.

  12. #12
    Brewmaster Steve French's Avatar
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    All they have to do is mention something extremely terrible like child porn and hes guilty until proven innocent to the general public, people don't think any further than headlines these days. Seven months held for nothing other than suspicion. If they can get it unlocked somehow without his help and they find child porn on it go ahead and lock him away for life, but to do so without any proof at all is fucked.
    Last edited by Steve French; 2016-04-28 at 03:10 AM.

  13. #13
    Brewmaster Darkrulerxxx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sicari View Post
    If he's held in contempt of court he essentially holds the keys to his cell...as soon as he is willing to comply with the court order he will be released.
    basis of contempt of court is faulty on violating his 5th amendment. it will be thrown out as soon as his lawyer will start dropping lawsuits.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve French View Post
    All they have to do is mention something extremely terrible like child porn and hes guilty until proven innocent to the general public, people don't think any further than headlines these days. Seven years, that's 2555 days he's been held for nothing other than suspicion, that's kind of scary. If they can get it unlocked somehow without his help and they find child porn on it go ahead and lock him away for life, but to do so without any proof at all is fucked.
    7 months...not years.

  15. #15
    Brewmaster Steve French's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sicari View Post
    If he's held in contempt of court he essentially holds the keys to his cell...as soon as he is willing to comply with the court order he will be released.
    That's not how it works. The justice system doesn't just get to go well we think he did something, so we're going to jail him until he tells us what he did. The evidence comes before the arrest not after.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Sicari View Post
    7 months...not years.
    Okay i misread that part, but still.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Darkrulerxxx View Post
    basis of contempt of court is faulty on violating his 5th amendment. it will be thrown out as soon as his lawyer will start dropping lawsuits.
    Then they should start dropping those lawsuits. As is, all he has to do to get out of jail is to unlock his hard drives.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    Pretty sure it's unconstitutional to imprison someone indefinitely.
    This, seriously WTF
    Quote Originally Posted by Venant View Post
    I feel bad for all those 'protesters' at the Trump rally, it's like the real life equivalent of making a 40 man raid in WoW and not having the boss spawn, thereby denying them a chance at looting.
    Quote Originally Posted by Endus View Post
    That's a nonsense argument that ignores what words mean.

  18. #18
    Bloodsail Admiral Begrudge's Avatar
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    If I was accused of the same I would not unlock them either, I would say I forgot the password, not trying to defend him though, if he really has child porn in those and they aren't SSD there are ways to get it, it's just extremely complicated and risks destroying evidence.
    Processor:Intel I5 8600 @ 3.5Ghz
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  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Sicari View Post
    Then they should start dropping those lawsuits. As is, all he has to do to get out of jail is to unlock his hard drives.
    Sorry, that's not how the law works and for good reason.
    Since we can't call out Trolls and Bad Faith posters and the Ignore function doesn't actually ignore it. Add
    "mmo-champion.com##li.postbitignored"
    to your ublock or adblock filter to actually ignore ignored posters. Now just need a way to ignore responses to them as well.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Fugus View Post
    Sorry, that's not how the law works and for good reason.
    It's how it is working right now. I'm not saying I agree with it.

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