No Right to Privacy When Your Computer Is Repaired

Billosaur writes "ZDNet's Police Blotter bring us the interesting story of a Pennsylvania man who brought his computer into Circuit City to have a DVD burner installed on his computer and wound up being arrested for having child pornography on his hard drive. Circuit City employees discovered the child pornography while perusing Kenneth Sodomsky's hard drive for files to test the burner, then proceeded to call the police, who arrested Sodomsky and confiscated the computer. Sodomsky's lawyer argued in court that the Circuit City techs had no right to go rifling through the hard drive, and the trial court agreed, but prosecutors appealed and the appeals court overturned the lower court's decision, based on the fact that Sodomsky had consented to the installation of the DVD drive."

Comments

The Real Question

[Anonymous Coward]

Where do I find child pornography?

Re:Idiot...

[heinousjay]

What do you think the realistic alternative is, exactly? If someone is raping a girl in an alley behind a dumpster, should reporting that be illegal? Obviously he wanted privacy while committing his crime, so who am I to breach the privacy?

If you create a situation (like inviting a person into your house) where someone can stumble upon (or even search for and find) evidence that you've committed a crime, it's not the fault of the person who found the evidence. Doesn't matter if it's in your house or in the middle of a rush hour freeway.

Re:sweet one more scumbag nailed

[atarione]

I want to make something perfectly clear... I don't think people that buy / find on the ground and keep (WTF would anyone keep something that sick?) childpr0n are any better than people that molest children.

ps - I find the fact that you are promoting violence towards someone for expressing an opinion very disturbing.

I don't actually recall promoting violence? (but i don't have a problem with violence being taken against child molesters to be sure) I was pointing out that if he takes his filthy views 2 real life he will get his head smashed in.. it is a statement of fact.