Child Porn on Limewire.....My Story(everyone needs to read this)

[Unanimous]

Im seeing alot of topics about here on child porn on limewire and how nothing is being done to fix it, I think some people dont know how serious of an issue it is so i thought i would share this with you

In 2006 while away at college I was arrested for having child porn in my limewire shared folder. I thought i was downloading legal porn files, but as you all know titles dont mean anything on limewire. So anyway i was in my dorm room and about 5:30 in the afternoon i hear a knock at the door, i was sleeping so i decided to ignore it. about 5 minutes later i hear a knock again and then someone opening my door, i was like wtf. To my disbelief a bunch of police start rolling into my room, so im wondering what is going on, i get out of bed and put some clothes on. Then they start asking me questions, im not going to go into detail about what they were but i wasnt being very cooperative and i didnt know what was going on. So they tell me that they tracked a certain child porn file on my computer, so they search it and find these files. after this i was read my rights and arrested. at the police station they do a full search of my harddrive and find 5 child porn movies in my limewire shared folder. I was released on unsecured bond and sent back to my school, next day i was told i was suspended from the college and told to leave by the end of the day.

My arrest was covered on 4 or 5 news networks and i dont know how many newspapers. i was charged with distribution and child sexual abuse. the sad thing is no one new this could happen like this, everyone thought you had to be deliberatley searching for these files to find them and couldnt stumble upon them like i did. The file the police actually got the warrant on was never actually found on my computer. I only had 5 videos, i was potentially facing 5 years for every video i had. i was sure even in the best possible scenario i would do at least a couple years in prison over this, i was very scared.

Well i got lucky, this didnt get to trial and i pleaded to a misdemeanor charge and got put on ARD for two years and my record was completely expunged. There are others who arent so lucky as you can see and are spending their lives in prison over this bullshit. The police arent doing anything about it, they are just having a feild day arresting people like me. I also find it disturbing that the people actually abusing the kids in the videos arent even being arrested and if they are they are getting less time then the people just viewing the movies on a computer it seems like the police are only targeting the viewers and should be targeting the sicko's actually doing this to their kids or someone else kids. The penaltys for vewing this material are way to harsh as well, yes people who watch child porn should be in prison but not for 50 years.

anyway this can happen to anybody using a file sharing program, your kids your brothers,sisters and even parents. something needs to be done about this problem. i encourage everybody to stop using limewire unless they can do something about this, or maybe it will be you who the police come visit next, your kids, family and freinds.

[Kath]

That's a hard lesson for people who keep files on their PC without viewing them.. view immediately and delete if it's not what you expect.

Just as effective, don't download porn ;)

[cobai]

how likely is that to happen if youre not from USA? i also got some(accidently), but didnt know its illegal to even have in your pc. im so glad i found this topic, and im a bit scared. ill delete all right away

[tagmoide]

Im seeing alot of topics about here on child porn on limewire and how nothing is being done to fix it, I think some people dont know how serious of an issue it is so i thought i would share this with you

In 2006 while away at college I was arrested for having child porn in my limewire shared folder. I thought i was downloading legal porn files, but as you all know titles dont mean anything on limewire. So anyway i was in my dorm room and about 5:30 in the afternoon i hear a knock at the door, i was sleeping so i decided to ignore it. about 5 minutes later i hear a knock again and then someone opening my door, i was like wtf. To my disbelief a bunch of police start rolling into my room, so im wondering what is going on, i get out of bed and put some clothes on. Then they start asking me questions, im not going to go into detail about what they were but i wasnt being very cooperative and i didnt know what was going on. So they tell me that they tracked a certain child porn file on my computer, so they search it and find these files. after this i was read my rights and arrested. at the police station they do a full search of my harddrive and find 5 child porn movies in my limewire shared folder. I was released on unsecured bond and sent back to my school, next day i was told i was suspended from the college and told to leave by the end of the day.

My arrest was covered on 4 or 5 news networks and i dont know how many newspapers. i was charged with distribution and child sexual abuse. the sad thing is no one new this could happen like this, everyone thought you had to be deliberatley searching for these files to find them and couldnt stumble upon them like i did. The file the police actually got the warrant on was never actually found on my computer. I only had 5 videos, i was potentially facing 5 years for every video i had. i was sure even in the best possible scenario i would do at least a couple years in prison over this, i was very scared.

Well i got lucky, this didnt get to trial and i pleaded to a misdemeanor charge and got put on ARD for two years and my record was completely expunged. There are others who arent so lucky as you can see and are spending their lives in prison over this bullshit. The police arent doing anything about it, they are just having a feild day arresting people like me. I also find it disturbing that the people actually abusing the kids in the videos arent even being arrested and if they are they are getting less time then the people just viewing the movies on a computer it seems like the police are only targeting the viewers and should be targeting the sicko's actually doing this to their kids or someone else kids. The penaltys for vewing this material are way to harsh as well, yes people who watch child porn should be in prison but not for 50 years.

anyway this can happen to anybody using a file sharing program, your kids your brothers,sisters and even parents. something needs to be done about this problem. i encourage everybody to stop using limewire unless they can do something about this, or maybe it will be you who the police come visit next, your kids, family and freinds.
Simple don't look for any porn at all problem solved.

[tagmoide]

how likely is that to happen if youre not from USA? i also got some(accidently), but didnt know its illegal to even have in your pc. im so glad i found this topic, and im a bit scared. ill delete all right away
You can never delete from your hard drive the police have devices to find deleted files.

[Judge Zargabaath]

Actually, yes you can. As soon as you delete it, get new files (of something legal). The old files'll be gone for good.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

Don't share the downloads folder at all. Set it up so you move files to other
folders in order to share them. I catch thousands of nodes every month
carrying spam and trojans in unchecked download folders.
They all go into the [Fullsize hostiles List] (http://www.technutopia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240), of course. ;)

Use Bitzi on any large file and on any which may be misnamed.
[ That would be everything. ;]

Turn off partial file sharing while any porn or unchecked files are on the download list.

Don't bother with porn on gnutella at all. Most of it is junk that nobody wants
even if it didn't come from a spammers or wasn't a worm on the move.

[SixInARow]

Probably best not to download porn though limewire. You never really know exactly what you are downloading. I downloaded porn a few times a long time ago on limewire and probably half of it I never even bothered to watch. I have no idea if it was actually what I downloaded or not, so again I would just steer clear of using limewire as your source for such material.

I will agree, penalties are very harsh for such offenses. Our justice system is such that you're rarely innocent until proven guilty. In your case, it appears that whether your story is the truth or not doesn't matter to a DA, you had the stuff on your computer and you're guilty in their eyes. Everyone wonders why our prisons are so overcrowded, well...that's another fine example. It's as if they treat viewing pictures or videos to be as bad or worse as actually taking the pictures or video yourself. IMO, viewing should not carry such stiff penalties, whereas being the one that takes and distributes is a bigger deal. I'm sure an argument could be made saying that those who are looking at it are just as sick as the ones taking it. That may be true, but I don't quite feel that way. IMO we live in a society these days where you can get just about anything you want, except fairness. By that I mean when you've done something wrong or there is the implication that you've done wrong it as if you don't stand a chance. It's your word versus theirs and all they need is what they call evidence to prove your guilt. That's too bad, because I'm sure if you were to use the defense that the file was titled differently than what it actually was, or that you did not view it they'd just say they don't believe you....evidence is there, guilty guilty guilty....

[mw0sec]

Actually, yes you can. As soon as you delete it, get new files (of something legal). The old files'll be gone for good.

Quite so. Or easier, download a copy of CCleaner (free but will accept donations). This is an excellent tool and can securely delete files by overwriting.

For those who wish to reduce snooping, try PeerGuardian. (Highly recommended for those who leave their machines on line for long periods.)

You will find either by a web search of the name.

Les.

[theAnswer]

How long where you sharing these files for? I too found out i was sharing CP for over a month (i had no idea) and i immediately erased limewire. Now i can't sleep, eat or do anything productive. I stay up all night reading about P2P CP cases where people get busted. I am just waiting to get my door knocked in by the cops. I dont know what to do....I am thinking about going to the authorities on this and seeking their opinion..........Any advice would be helpful

[Valor_NET]

Just destory your current computer and get a new one.

[theAnswer]

ok....i am really freakin out here.....i am not in some big time pedo ring....but they wont see it like that.....i am thinking about just throwing my computer in the river tomorrow.....another thing....when i was on limewire the last month, i would be on for about 2 times a week and maybe 2 or 3 hours at a time....then the last week before i found out about all this.....i was on for about 5 to 7 hours at a time for probably 4 to 5 days out of the week. My question now is, is that enough time for them to justify a search?? i mean will they be watching me now for the next couple of months? or will they simply decide that i am not a threat and move on....... any input would be helpful.......

[afsfclan]

Im seeing alot of topics about here on child porn on limewire and how nothing is being done to fix it, I think some people dont know how serious of an issue it is so i thought i would share this with you

In 2006 while away at college I was arrested for having child porn in my limewire shared folder. I thought i was downloading legal porn files, but as you all know titles dont mean anything on limewire. So anyway i was in my dorm room and about 5:30 in the afternoon i hear a knock at the door, i was sleeping so i decided to ignore it. about 5 minutes later i hear a knock again and then someone opening my door, i was like wtf. To my disbelief a bunch of police start rolling into my room, so im wondering what is going on, i get out of bed and put some clothes on. Then they start asking me questions, im not going to go into detail about what they were but i wasnt being very cooperative and i didnt know what was going on. So they tell me that they tracked a certain child porn file on my computer, so they search it and find these files. after this i was read my rights and arrested. at the police station they do a full search of my harddrive and find 5 child porn movies in my limewire shared folder. I was released on unsecured bond and sent back to my school, next day i was told i was suspended from the college and told to leave by the end of the day.

My arrest was covered on 4 or 5 news networks and i dont know how many newspapers. i was charged with distribution and child sexual abuse. the sad thing is no one new this could happen like this, everyone thought you had to be deliberatley searching for these files to find them and couldnt stumble upon them like i did. The file the police actually got the warrant on was never actually found on my computer. I only had 5 videos, i was potentially facing 5 years for every video i had. i was sure even in the best possible scenario i would do at least a couple years in prison over this, i was very scared.

Well i got lucky, this didnt get to trial and i pleaded to a misdemeanor charge and got put on ARD for two years and my record was completely expunged. There are others who arent so lucky as you can see and are spending their lives in prison over this bullshit. The police arent doing anything about it, they are just having a feild day arresting people like me. I also find it disturbing that the people actually abusing the kids in the videos arent even being arrested and if they are they are getting less time then the people just viewing the movies on a computer it seems like the police are only targeting the viewers and should be targeting the sicko's actually doing this to their kids or someone else kids. The penaltys for vewing this material are way to harsh as well, yes people who watch child porn should be in prison but not for 50 years.

anyway this can happen to anybody using a file sharing program, your kids your brothers,sisters and even parents. something needs to be done about this problem. i encourage everybody to stop using limewire unless they can do something about this, or maybe it will be you who the police come visit next, your kids, family and freinds.

First of all, your full of it. Dont misconstrue that statement however. I think it is very honorable what you are trying to do, but scaring people isnt going to help. However as someone that spent 4 years in the Air Force computer Fraud and Detection center, in order for you to be targeted like that, in teh way you describe, you would have had to downloaded ALOT more than just a few "accidental" files. When I was there, and for the parts I can discuss here, they do understand that files get mislabeled, someone downloads it un whittingly, and "in theory" delete it right away once they realized what it was. They really could give a snote less abotu the guy that downloaded a few by mistake, they are looking for the people mass distributing them. In the 4 years I was there I can proudly say I helped them investigate and convict over 40 pedophiles and the least amount of files I had seen on their computer was around 100 seperate files (for those of you who are not aware that is 100 counts of Posession of Lucid minor, or Material portraying lude acts by a minor which are both felonies, HOWEVER there is no way to charge anyone with Sexual Abuse of a minor for posession of the videos, unless you were in them doing something to those minors, and ADA's arent liekly to give people like that a "break" especially with public pressure from the news etc..). So you my freind are not being honest. But I do think something needs to be done to help prevent this similiar to what another "will be not named" filesharing client did by not showing results for certain search terms.
I really do think its sick what these people do, I am glad I never had to be the one arresting these guys, I woulda killed them.

[Wayne Cay]

Actually, yes you can. As soon as you delete it, get new files (of something legal). The old files'll be gone for good.
Please tell me HOW to cover over those files

[afsfclan]

just get a shredder, it works by overwriting the file numerous times with blank information. Do a google search.

[Unanimous]

First of all, your full of it. Dont misconstrue that statement however. I think it is very honorable what you are trying to do, but scaring people isnt going to help. However as someone that spent 4 years in the Air Force computer Fraud and Detection center, in order for you to be targeted like that, in teh way you describe, you would have had to downloaded ALOT more than just a few "accidental" files. When I was there, and for the parts I can discuss here, they do understand that files get mislabeled, someone downloads it un whittingly, and "in theory" delete it right away once they realized what it was. They really could give a snote less abotu the guy that downloaded a few by mistake, they are looking for the people mass distributing them. In the 4 years I was there I can proudly say I helped them investigate and convict over 40 pedophiles and the least amount of files I had seen on their computer was around 100 seperate files (for those of you who are not aware that is 100 counts of Posession of Lucid minor, or Material portraying lude acts by a minor which are both felonies, HOWEVER there is no way to charge anyone with Sexual Abuse of a minor for posession of the videos, unless you were in them doing something to those minors, and ADA's arent liekly to give people like that a "break" especially with public pressure from the news etc..). So you my freind are not being honest. But I do think something needs to be done to help prevent this similiar to what another "will be not named" filesharing client did by not showing results for certain search terms.
I really do think its sick what these people do, I am glad I never had to be the one arresting these guys, I woulda killed them.

afraid not, i really only had 5 movie files in my shared folder. If you type my name in a search engine youll get about 6 links telling you the deal. but the whole thing is over now and i dont want anymore attention to it

[Unanimous]

ok....i am really freakin out here.....i am not in some big time pedo ring....but they wont see it like that.....i am thinking about just throwing my computer in the river tomorrow.....another thing....when i was on limewire the last month, i would be on for about 2 times a week and maybe 2 or 3 hours at a time....then the last week before i found out about all this.....i was on for about 5 to 7 hours at a time for probably 4 to 5 days out of the week. My question now is, is that enough time for them to justify a search?? i mean will they be watching me now for the next couple of months? or will they simply decide that i am not a threat and move on....... any input would be helpful.......

dont worry about it, as long as you deleted the files you should be ok and if you do get arrested they cant take it anywhere in court

[talessa]

Probably best not to download porn though limewire. You never really know exactly what you are downloading. I downloaded porn a few times a long time ago on limewire and probably half of it I never even bothered to watch. I have no idea if it was actually what I downloaded or not, so again I would just steer clear of using limewire as your source for such material.

I will agree, penalties are very harsh for such offenses. Our justice system is such that you're rarely innocent until proven guilty. In your case, it appears that whether your story is the truth or not doesn't matter to a DA, you had the stuff on your computer and you're guilty in their eyes. Everyone wonders why our prisons are so overcrowded, well...that's another fine example. It's as if they treat viewing pictures or videos to be as bad or worse as actually taking the pictures or video yourself. IMO, viewing should not carry such stiff penalties, whereas being the one that takes and distributes is a bigger deal. I'm sure an argument could be made saying that those who are looking at it are just as sick as the ones taking it. That may be true, but I don't quite feel that way. IMO we live in a society these days where you can get just about anything you want, except fairness. By that I mean when you've done something wrong or there is the implication that you've done wrong it as if you don't stand a chance. It's your word versus theirs and all they need is what they call evidence to prove your guilt. That's too bad, because I'm sure if you were to use the defense that the file was titled differently than what it actually was, or that you did not view it they'd just say they don't believe you....evidence is there, guilty guilty guilty....

The reason they go after people in cases like these so harshly is because dowloading and viewing the movies is a step towards committing the act. It's a way to prevent things from happening in the future. I'm sure they have gone after the people in the videos themselves too. They have obvious proof so why wouldn't they arrest them and put them in prison? You can't be convicted of a crime without evidence so your opinion here sounds like complete bull to me. I think the best way to avoid something like this is to just not download any kind of porn from anywhere you don't know is legit and won't have mislabeled anything. Or...just get a more active imagination.

[darknet]

First of all, your full of it. Dont misconstrue that statement however. I think it is very honorable what you are trying to do, but scaring people isnt going to help. However as someone that spent 4 years in the Air Force computer Fraud and Detection center, in order for you to be targeted like that, in teh way you describe, you would have had to downloaded ALOT more than just a few "accidental" files. When I was there, and for the parts I can discuss here, they do understand that files get mislabeled, someone downloads it un whittingly, and "in theory" delete it right away once they realized what it was. They really could give a snote less abotu the guy that downloaded a few by mistake, they are looking for the people mass distributing them. In the 4 years I was there I can proudly say I helped them investigate and convict over 40 pedophiles and the least amount of files I had seen on their computer was around 100 seperate files (for those of you who are not aware that is 100 counts of Posession of Lucid minor, or Material portraying lude acts by a minor which are both felonies, HOWEVER there is no way to charge anyone with Sexual Abuse of a minor for posession of the videos, unless you were in them doing something to those minors, and ADA's arent liekly to give people like that a "break" especially with public pressure from the news etc..). So you my freind are not being honest. But I do think something needs to be done to help prevent this similiar to what another "will be not named" filesharing client did by not showing results for certain search terms.
I really do think its sick what these people do, I am glad I never had to be the one arresting these guys, I woulda killed them.
OK, first of all, the idea of charging multiple sentences for the number of pics is ridiculous. What about videos? That will be 24FPS*5yrs/frame = ?

The whole thing is completely blown out of proportion though. If one were to actually go out and r**e and murder a child they would get less time than someone with a few thousand CP pics or vids. You can't tell me that is justice.

Also, your comment about killing them is very telling. It is frightening to think that people like you are involved in law enforcement... I can only hope that you will see that taking a human life is a very serious thing, whilst viewing child porn on the other hand is comparatively minor.

The reason they go after people in cases like these so harshly is because dowloading and viewing the movies is a step towards committing the act. It's a way to prevent things from happening in the future. I'm sure they have gone after the people in the videos themselves too. They have obvious proof so why wouldn't they arrest them and put them in prison? You can't be convicted of a crime without evidence so your opinion here sounds like complete bull to me. I think the best way to avoid something like this is to just not download any kind of porn from anywhere you don't know is legit and won't have mislabeled anything. Or...just get a more active imagination.
That's like saying that violence in movies leads people to be violent, and therefore people who watch violent movies should be prosecuted.

It's not nessisarily obvious proof either, it could have been on the computer because of malware, or even simply due to an accidental download as the OP stated.

With regards to avoiding this sort of thing, there's no need to stop downloading porn because you're scared of a little CP; you just need to use a more secure network for that sort of thing, one which uses a reliable mixnet and distributed data store. So that even in the case that one accidentally downloads CP, it would never be traced to them.

I think that you need to re-evaluate your thoughts on the matter, and consider how you might have been influenced by the current hysteria and propaganda that has been highly publicized of late.

Regards,
-Darknet

[Gretzky09]

Wow, this is pretty serious stuff. Good to know and thanks for sharing your story

[spock7]

theAnswer-

...just curious, as I just came across this thread of late. Now that a year has passed, has anything happened? Hope not!