Prosecutors in Minnesota use digital evidence in sex crime cases to connect suspects to crimes. They analyze the chronological order of online events and statements to show intent, motive, or premeditation. The common types of evidence used in sex crime investigations include direct, actual, and circumstantial evidence.
Your past online activity can also be used against you in a sex crime case. That includes deleted text messages and search history. Understanding how erased digital information is recovered and interpreted in court can help you prepare for the case. Even so, you need strong legal representation to better your chances of winning the case or at least lowering the severity of the sentence if you are found guilty.
Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys is a reputed criminal defense law firm in Minneapolis. Our lead sex crime defense lawyer, Max Keller, is a former prosecutor. He understands the strategies prosecutors use to build evidence using digital information and knows how to counter them. Call us at (952) 913-1421 if you are facing a sex crime charge and suspect the prosecution may use your online activity against you.
Table of Contents
Types of Evidence Commonly Used in Crime Investigations
Minnesota courts accept different types of evidence in criminal proceedings. Each piece of evidence presented in court serves a role. Knowing these types of evidence can enable you to devise the best defense strategy.
Direct Evidence
Direct evidence includes eyewitness accounts provided in court. It gives an unaltered account that supports the truth of the assertion. If credible, direct evidence can strongly influence the jury’s verdict.
Actual Evidence
This type of evidence involves tangible items allegedly used by a suspected sex offender to commit the crime. Such evidence captures jurors’ attention because it’s physically present. They can see and examine it. Common examples of actual evidence in sex crime cases include clothing, DNA samples, pictures and videos, forensic evidence, and medical records.
Circumstantial Evidence
Circumstantial evidence involves indirect facts related to the case. Such evidence requires jurors to connect to other pieces of evidence presented in court to make conclusions. For example, the prosecution may present text messages to show motive or intent.
How Law Enforcement Accesses and Interprets Online Activity
Digital evidence offers crucial facts and evidence in sex crime prosecutions in Minnesota. The state recorded around 2,054 cases of rape and sexual assault in 2023. Over 300 sexual assault incidents happened in colleges and universities in the same year.
Law enforcement often obtains digital evidence when investigating these cases. The prosecution then presents the digital facts in court. For example, it may retrieve your social media activities to construct a detailed timeline. Additionally, it may also examine online activities involving minors to build circumstantial evidence. This evidence may reveal behavior patterns or establish a motive in a child sex crime. That’s why it is crucial to understand the dangers of social media and child sex crimes.
Eyewitness testimonies can sometimes be unreliable. A witness may sometimes present inaccurate information. He or she may fail to remember important timelines or events related to the case. Digital evidence addresses these challenges. It offers accurate, authentic, and objective accounts of the alleged offender’s and victim’s interactions.
Can Deleted Messages or Search History Be Used in Court?
Prosecutors can retrieve deleted messages and use them against you in a sex crime case. Deleting incriminating text messages does not make them permanently inaccessible. The prosecution leverages advanced forensic techniques and data retrieval systems to access deleted messages. It may also go through your search history to uncover past allegations of sex crimes to bolster its case.
The prosecutor’s office may use various legal means to access digital evidence. They include:
- Obtaining a court-issued search warrant
- Using subpoenas to obtain text messages from your telephone service provider
- Using high-tech forensic tools to access encrypted data or deleted messages from seized phones
Text messages offer direct evidence that helps the prosecution build a strong case against you. It may request a search warrant if it believes you sent text messages admitting to involvement in a sex crime. Messages may also offer evidence of premeditation, intent, or conspiracy.
Defending Against Digital Evidence in Sex Crime Cases
A sex crime conviction carries severe legal consequences, including long imprisonment terms, fines, and sex offender registration. Online child pornography, indecent exposure, or solicitation of a minor are examples of sex crimes that require sex offender registration. Such a status takes away your rights to employment, housing, traveling, and community integration.
You are likelier to avoid a conviction in a Minnesota sex crime case involving digital evidence with a seasoned lawyer in your corner. An experienced sex crime lawyer knows the defense strategies to suppress the digital evidence and ultimately weaken the prosecution’s case. Your lawyer may employ the following defenses against digital evidence:
Challenging Evidence Authenticity
Your lawyer will review the prosecution’s digital evidence. The review may uncover information that could raise concerns about the authenticity of the digital evidence. The goal is to question the prosecution’s conclusion that you actually sent the messages. Someone else may have hacked into your phone or borrowed it. The person may have then used it to send a message or post on your social media account.
Challenging the Context
In its efforts to prove you guilty, the prosecution may take your online comments or activity out of context. An experienced sex crime defense lawyer can argue the case and present a broader context. Your lawyer can show that a text message or email has a different meaning besides the prosecution’s claims.
Challenging How the Police Obtained the Evidence
Law enforcement officers must gather digital evidence in full compliance with legal guidelines and procedures. Your lawyer will evaluate the online activity used in criminal investigations and how the police obtained the evidence. Your lawyer will file a motion to suppress the evidence if the prosecution violated the law when gathering it.
At Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys, we have successfully defended people charged with sex crimes in Minnesota for more than 25 years. Contact us for legal advice and representation if you or a loved one is facing sex crime charges or allegations.
