Expert Opinion on Age Wasn’t Needed in Child Pornography Case

The government wasn’t required to present expert testimony to establish the ages of a defendant’s victim when he was convicted on child pornography charges, the Seventh Circuit said.

Although the decision whether an expert should testify about a victim’s age should be made on a case-by-case basis, the images in Shawn Dewitt’s trial obviously depicted minors, the opinion by Judge Michael Y. Scudder Jr. said.

Dewitt communicated with undercover FBI agent Timothy Palchak in an online chat group suspected of having sexual interest in children. Dewitt eventually sent Palchak a video and still image of fully nude girls.

The FBI ...