This case study exemplifies how digital evidence should always be corroborated and verified whenever possible.
The case is related to downloading illegal child exploitation pictures and movie files. One of the potentially damaging files recovered was a pornographic picture of an underage child. The prosecution contended that this file had previously been displayed as the computer's desktop wallpaper, clearly visible on startup of the computer. It contended, not unreasonably, that it could hardly not have been noticed by the users of the computer, thus implicating the user's complicity in handling illegal, obscene material.
When seized, the computer desktop displayed an innocuous blank picture that raised no immediate interest. However, later examination of the computer located a .jpg
file depicting an obscene image of an underage child. This disturbing image was located at C:\Documents and Settings\xyz\Application Data\Opera\Opera...