Knowledge of Child Pornography on a Shared Computer

3 Ds - 540 Js 1187/15 - 290/16Court of First InstanceNov 28, 2017Criminal lawAcquitted

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The Bocholt Local Court acquitted the accused after child pornography images were found on a computer. It held that the discovery supports only a rebuttable factual inference that the computer’s owner knew of the material. That inference may be overcome where there is a sufficient likelihood that third parties used the computer. The court also stated that provider information associating a recipient with an IP address is binding only if the provider guarantees reliable and conscientious work and employee awareness of the consequences of errors. The Treasury was ordered to bear the proceedings’ costs and the accused’s necessary expenses.

Omnilex headnote

Sections 184b and 184c of the German Criminal Code; evidentiary inference from the discovery of prohibited images on a computer. The finding of child or juvenile pornography on a computer gives rise only to a factual presumption that the hardware owner knew of and intentionally retained the material; it does not establish knowledge conclusively. The presumption may be rebutted where there is a sufficient probability that third parties used the computer, whether in the past or concurrently. Provider information assigning a recipient to an IP address is binding only where the provider guarantees that the assignment was made reliably and conscientiously and that its employees were aware of the consequences of errors.

Full text

Amtsgericht Bocholt — 3 Ds - 540 Js 1187/15 - 290/16 — Urteil

Entscheidungsdatum: 2017-11-28

Aktenzeichen: 3 Ds - 540 Js 1187/15 - 290/16

ECLI: ECLI:DE:AGBOH:2017:1128.3DS540JS1187.15.2.00

Dokumenttyp: Urteil

Spruchkörper: 3. Abteilung für Strafsachen

Normen: StGB § 184 b, 184 c

Leitsätze

Der Fund kinderpornographischer Bilder auf einem Computer begründet nur die tatsächliche Vermutung, dass sich derartiges Material mit Wissen und Wollen bzw. Kenntnis des Hardwareinhabers auf dem Rechner befindet.

Diese tatsächliche Vermutung kann entkräftet werden, wenn eine hinreichende Wahrscheinlichkeit dafür besteht, dass auch Dritte entweder in der Vergangenheit den Computer genutzt haben oder parallel zum Angeklagten nutzen.

Die Auskünfte des Providers über die Zuordnung von Empfänger und IP Nummer sind nur verbindlich, wenn der Provider garantiert, dass er zuverlässig und gewissenhaft gearbeitet hat und dass seinen Mitar-beitern auch die Konsequenzen von Fehlern bewusst gewesen ist.

Tenor

Der Angeklagte wird freigesprochen.

Die Staatskasse trägt die Kosten des Verfahrens und die dem Angeklagten erwachsenen notwendigen Auslagen.

Keywords

criminal evidencechild pornographycomputer useknowledgeIP address attributionrebuttable presumption

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Whether the accused knowingly possessed child or juvenile pornography found on a computer, including whether provider data reliably linked the accused to the relevant material.

The presence of such images on a computer creates only a rebuttable factual presumption of the hardware owner's knowledge; reliable provider attribution is also required.

The presumption may be rebutted where it is sufficiently likely that third parties used the computer, either previously or concurrently. Provider information linking a recipient to an IP address is reliable only if the provider guarantees careful, reliable work and that its employees understood the consequences of errors.

Continue your research in ChatGPT or Claude

Connect Omnilex to search the legal corpus from your AI assistant.