Visits to Hidden Child-Porn Site Supported Home Search

Law enforcement was justified in searching a home where someone accessed a “dark web” child porn site and clicked on more than 160 related links over several hours even if it wasn’t clear who was at the keyboard, a federal appeals court ruled.

Probable cause existed to search Derek Tagg’s house for evidence of the crime of access of a website with intent to view child pornography regardless of whether he actually viewed illegal content, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held March 27.

The ruling overturned a district court, which held that probable cause didn’t exist ...