The 2nd Circuit held that a defendant does not have to save Internet files containing child pornography to his hard drive to be criminally liable. The decision comes on the heels of the May 8th New York Court of Appeals decision which held that viewers of free online pornography are not breaking the law if they just look but do not copy, purchase, or exercise “dominion and control” over the child pornography images. Governor Cuomo then quickly led a group of New York State legislators to prohibit the “knowing access with intent to view” sexual performances by a child. Here, the US Court of Appeals held that under the circumstances the evidence was sufficient to prove the defendant of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography, as “an individual who views images on the internet accepts them onto his computer, and he can still exercise dominion and control over them, even though they are in cache files.”
