ok so he was downlaoding regular porn and a child porn image opened and he deleted it instantly and did not think much of it because he deleted it quickly. His computer then broke so he brought it in to be serviced and the image was discovered and reported to the police. Then 6 months later he started getting calls from a police detective...he travels for work so he was not always home. He was asked to come in and talk to them and then it all got rally scarry. We got a lawyer and when he went in they arrested him and held him for the night. The whole thing was out of control....his case was in the same court as real violent offenders...cold blooded murderers. It was a hellish experience for him and as we found out later his face was even on the news...all for an accidental download of one stupid image!!!! My advice to you is to destroy the computer if it breaks rather than have it serviced. I do not wish the experiences of my brother and family on anyone. Also many judges and lawyers are of an older generation (as are potential jurors) and are unfamiliar with the idea of file sharing and do not understand it. there was a computer forensics specialist involved but the image hung around in the hard drive despite the fact that it was deleted. this was all in the state of Illinois.
So now my brother is a convisted felon, on probation and a registered sex offender. He has a curfew and receives visits from the police at all hours of the night and weekly meeting with other sex offenders which he is finding to be traumatic more than anything.
He had not previus criminal history and had an impressive background and now his life may never be the same again. I hope I am able to help you in any way and answer your questions.