Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Warrants.

I teach government and law. One of my students brought in a current event story re: a man who was arrested in a FBI sting in Feb. 2007 for allegedly clicking on a hyperlink which was supposed to lead to illegal pornography (I believe child porn). Anyway, the time between the illegal action (Oct. 2006) and the time of arrest (Feb. 2007) was somewhere along the lines of 3 1/2-4 months. My student was wondering why it took so long to issue the warrant and arrest the man. I told him that I really didn't have an answer for him. Was wondering if you could clarify.

Thank you.


Asked on 11/01/08, 12:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles A. Pascal, Jr. Law Office of Charles A. Pascal, Jr.

Re: Warrants.

That isn't that long. The statute of limitations on most crimes is 2 years, although it's probably longer for the crime you're talking about. It takes time to investigate. In the case you're talking about, it probably came about because the police were investigating something else, and came across your guy's internet address while doing so.

In any case, clicking on a hyperlink that leads to illegal porn isn't necessarily illegal in and of itself. How would one know where the hyperlink would lead??????

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Answered on 11/02/08, 11:00 am


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