Ganoe

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The investigation

On January 5, 2004, Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment Special Agent Ken Rochford was using LimeWire to UNITED STATES v. GANOE 10737 locate people using file-sharing programs to trade child por- nography. LimeWire is a file-sharing program that can be downloaded from the internet free of charge; it allows users to search for and share with one another various types of files, including movies and pictures, on the computers of other per- sons with LimeWire. Once a user downloads the program onto his computer, the user can click on an icon that connects his computer to others on the network. Users can input search terms and receive a list of responsive files available on other computers connected to the network.

Upon observing a file entitled “Baby J Compilation,” Rochford downloaded and viewed the movie, confirming that it depicted an adult having sexual intercourse with a very young girl. (The computer forensics expert testified that “BabyJ” is a common term in the world of child pornography, referring to “a specific victim of child exploitation” depicted in a series of pictures and movies.) Rochford used…