Men being framed for child porn through Internet virus

New detected Internet viruses show that pranksters, hackers or pedophiles themselves can transfer child pornography onto an unsuspecting person’s personal computer, according to the Associated Press. The worst thing is is the fact that you may not even know about the images until police inform you and possibly even charge you with possession. An Associated Press investigation has shown that hundreds of people have been framed for possessing child pornography images that were found by loved ones, co-workers or friends on their computers. These accusations have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars to be proven innocent and many of them have lost their lives. As WFMY News notes, one particular case was in 2007 when Michael Fiola was accused of being a pedophile after a computer technician found photographs of nude children on his computer. After management found out about the incident, he was fired and received death threats. In the end, he spent $250,000 on legal fees to prove his innocence. After careful review of the PC, it contained a virus that caused the computer to visit at least 40 child porn websites per minute. However, many prosecutors think that pedophiles are using this virus as an excuse, which they can use to store the pornography on someone else’s computer. Phil Malone, Director of the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, told the Associated Press, “It's an example of the old `dog ate my homework' excuse. The problem is, sometimes the dog does eat your homework.” Fiola, who has tried to get his money back but can’t because lawyers won’t take the case, said, according to Opposing Views, “It ruined my life, my wife's life and my family's life.”