Burglared man arrested

[Lighthawk]

Teenage burglars may get away with breaking into a man's home after showing California police that their victim allegedly had a large stash of child pornography.

Kraig Stockard quickly transformed from victim to criminal suspect when the teens gave police stolen CDs allegedly loaded with thousands of explicit photographs and movies, according to Merced County Sheriff's Department Deputy Tom McKenzie.

The burglars -- one 19 years old and the other a minor -- stole 50 compact discs from Stockard's barn on Sept. 12, Fox 40 reports.

Later, when the young crooks asked a family member to help them record music on the discs, they discovered the CDs already were filled with a trove of pornography, including many images of children, the sheriff's department said in a statement.

Cops said that 30 of the 50 discs had images of kiddie porn. They raided Stockard's home and seized several computers, laptops and other hardware. But they haven't searched the computers for additional contraband, McKenzie told The Huffington Post.

Stockard initially denied that he owned the illicit material, but cops said he later admitted the CDs were his. Investigators said his collection goes back to at least 2004.

Police accepted the alleged evidence from the thieves, but didn't press charges against them, although the district attorney is reviewing their case, according to McKenzie.

Source

Wow, I mean really? Okay yes, child porn is bad, m'kay. Now, that aside, by what insane troll logic does it make sense to let these teens get away with this. Yes, district attorney is reviewing their case yadda yadda. Why would there even be a question on that point, they broke into someone's property and stole his stuff for no justifiable reason. Charge em and try em.

Second, shouldn't those CDs be inadmissible in court, due to how they were acquired? My law isn't all that solid admittedly, but that bit seems to stick with me. Hell, how was this even enough to get him arrested and his computer seized? All they had was the word of two self admitted thieves that the CDs came from where they said they did.

I find this whole thing very suspect. Don't get me wrong, if the guy supports child porn, I'd like to see him charged and tried for it, but there is a lot of bullshit involved in this.

[Mikey]

I agree. The guy should get what's coming to him... but how, exactly, does that exonerate the kids from B&E?

[McAvoy]

You will be suprised how fast cops will arrest someone when child pornography is involved. My own brother got his computers siezed when his wife said he had child pornography while drunk and she had the cops called on her for domestic abuse because she was beating my brother on the front lawn. In the same drunken breath, she said my brother was a gun for hire, selling army secrets to the Chinese and had illegal firearms while at the same time calling the cops fat pigs. But never mind that! My brother has child pornography on his computer!

BTW, he didn't as it was proven and neither was the other shit she was spewing. But the fact she was acting like that but the cops took the child pornography so seriously says alot.

[Mikey]

I don't mind the cops going at the guy for child porn. I just don't understand what that has to do with the fact that kids committed a completely separate crime.

[Tinadrin Chelnor]

Agreed, the guy with the child porn should definitely be charged and get whatever is the punishment (I don't feel the punishment is quite enough in Britain, don't know what it is elsewhere). But the kids still broke the law, whatever happened after that with the finding the stash is irrelevant. They broke the law and should still be charged.

[Nickswitz]

I know that the evidence can be used since it was not obtained illegally by the police. And as long as something is linked to the guy who lived at the house that was burglarized, it can be used. Otherwise it cannot be used, so if the guy is on the tape, then it can be used against him in court.

However, the kids should still be tried just as usual.

[shran]

They should also consider the possibility that the burglars put the porn on the cd's. Then it could get really nasty.

[Tyyr]

Well this is a total clusterfuck.

The kids should be tried for B&E, full stop. You might give them some leniency since when they found the kiddie porn they turned it in, but only if they copped to the B&E at the same time. If they tried to worm their way out of it nail them.

The guy was an idiot for admitting the disks were his. At that point all the cops had was the word of a couple of burglars. Deny and he'd probably walk without ever being charged. Hell, if the cops did raid his house he could probably sue the ever loving shit out of them for illegal search an seizure if all they're going on is the word of a couple of hoods.