First and foremost, I want to make it absolutely clear that after a thorough and exhaustive investigation, I was 100% exonerated of all charges and accusations listed in the charging papers that were posted by an anonymous internet blogger last week. As a father, I fully understand the concerns that have been raised over the past week, and feel it is important to address the matter head-on.First and foremost, I want to make it absolutely clear that after a thorough and exhaustive investigation,





Despite the favorable outcome and despite the passing of nearly five years, it is still painful to revisit what was an incredibly difficult time in the lives of both myself and my family. But I am not naïve. After Helena passed away, I knew that if I made the decision to step up and become a more vocal member of the Maura Murray community that it was likely a matter of time before I was subjected to the vicious character attacks that so many others have in this case.





It is certainly not evidence. And as the verdict clearly demonstrates, the prosecution was unable to back up the claims listed in those papers. While I doubt I can effectively answer every question in a single statement, below is a summary explanation of the circumstances surrounding my case. Beyond that, the case file is public and any person is free to inspect it. Going forward, I am happy to address any additional concerns or provide clarifying information to any person that approaches me in a respectful manner. The document that was released online was the government’s “Proposed Findings of Facts,” which is a list of items the prosecution anticipates it will be able to prove in court. It is not the final word.It is certainly not evidence.And as the verdict clearly demonstrates, the prosecution was unable to back up the claims listed in those papers. While I doubt I can effectively answer every question in a single statement, below is a summary explanation of the circumstances surrounding my case. Beyond that, the case file is public and any person is free to inspect it. Going forward, I am happy to address any additional concerns or provide clarifying information to any person that approaches me in a respectful manner.





th 2012, I was awakened by the loud sound of someone banging on the front door of my home. I yelled for my wife to get the kids as I rushed downstairs to open the door. All I could think was that the banging must have been from neighbors or rescue workers attempting to alert us to some danger. Instead, I was met by 19 federal law enforcement agents (SWAT and FBI) – a number of them with firearms pointed squarely at me. I then sat on my living room couch under the supervision of armed guards without any idea of what was happening. After what felt like forever, I was eventually made aware that the agents were in my home to seize child pornography. I was stunned and entirely overwhelmed with shock and confusion of the situation. And it was only just the beginning. Around 5:30 am on September 62012, I was awakened by the loud sound of someone banging on the front door of my home. I yelled for my wife to get the kids as I rushed downstairs to open the door. All I could think was that the banging must have been from neighbors or rescue workers attempting to alert us to some danger. Instead, I was met by 19 federal law enforcement agents (SWAT and FBI) – a number of them with firearms pointed squarely at me. I then sat on my living room couch under the supervision of armed guards without any idea of what was happening.After what felt like forever, I was eventually made aware that the agents were in my home to seize child pornography. I was stunned and entirely overwhelmed with shock and confusion of the situation. And it was only just the beginning.





The investigators claimed to have observed the IP address and GUID attached to my residence having shared large amounts of child pornography, and they were particularly interested in three devices (my phone, iPad, and server). After spending hours forensically analyzing these devices on site, they did not find any trace of child porn. They returned my devices that same day. That is where the nightmare should have ended. But it was not.





I complied with this request and answered all of their questions without hesitation and without requesting the presence of an attorney (the same is true for my wife). When the investigators failed to find what they were looking for, they asked to search the rest of the devices in the home, including a handful of internal and external hard drives. One of the services my business (in the audio visual industry) provides is smart home installation. As a normal part of that service, it is common for us to upgrade home networks with new hard drives. And as a result, over the years I have ended up with a collection of miscellaneous home computing equipment including internal and external hard drives (which would get wiped and stored for later use if needed).I complied with this request and answered all of their questions without hesitation and without requesting the presence of an attorney (the same is true for my wife).





The charging papers clearly try to create an impression that I was attempting to conceal the equipment in my safe for sinister reasons. The truth is that the reason that equipment was in the safe was because my wife and I had caught our 13-year-old son illegally downloading music and viewing pornography in his room. After that, I put the external hard drive he had been using in the safe and moved the computer out of his room and into the kitchen to make it easier for us to monitor his internet activity.





It is the sort of thing that could cripple a business like mine in the audio/visual industry. And that is the reason those drives were in the safe. Investigators had no prior knowledge of these drives. I am the one that made them aware of the drives and voluntarily provided them with the combination to the safe. While no parent wants their teenager to be viewing pornography on the internet, the fact of the matter is that at the time, I was more troubled by the fact that he was sharing music with his friends, and that my IP address could be flagged for copyright infringement.It is the sort of thing that could cripple a business like mine in the audio/visual industry.And that is the reason those drives were in the safe.Investigators had no prior knowledge of these drives.I am the one that made them aware of the drives and voluntarily provided them with the combination to the safe.





That did not happen. Nevertheless, when the agents left my home, I immediately contacted an attorney for advice. He said that in situations like the one I described, arrests are usually made within several weeks (if not on the spot). While we were rattled by the experience, and mildly distressed by the uncertainty during the weeks that followed, we were comforted by the fact that investigators did not uncover what they were looking for, and were reasonably certain it was all just an unfortunate mistake. If investigators had found what they came looking for the day they raided my home, I would have been arrested on the spot.That did not happen. Nevertheless, when the agents left my home, I immediately contacted an attorney for advice. He said that in situations like the one I described, arrests are usually made within several weeks (if not on the spot).While we were rattled by the experience, and mildly distressed by the uncertainty during the weeks that followed, we were comforted by the fact that investigators did not uncover what they were looking for, and were reasonably certain it was all just an unfortunate mistake.





Nine months later, I was charged. The overwhelming majority of child pornography cases (98%) end with a conviction for the government. This is because there tends to be an overwhelming amount of evidence in the vast majority of cases (electronic files, printed images, communications with like-minded individuals, participation in forums, message boards, etc.).





So after investing 19 agents, 9 months, and multiple forensic analysts, they finally found the one that allowed them to justify the entire charade. During the course of the trial it became clear why there was an unusual delay between when my home was raided and when charges were ultimately filed. The first analysis failed to find any child pornography. The government then enlisted the services of a second forensic analyst, who also failed to find any evidence of child pornography. It was not until the third analyst reviewed the devices that any so-called evidence of child pornography was uncovered.So after investing 19 agents, 9 months, and multiple forensic analysts, they finally found the one that allowed them to justify the entire charade.





The vast majority of Marsh’s testimony – the same testimony they used to charge me in the first place and that comprised a substantial portion of the information in the 19 page charging papers posted online – was stricken from the record in a motion that the prosecution did not even bother to object to or oppose. Moreover, several of the dates the government claimed to have observed my IP/GUID sharing child pornography at my residence, I was easily able to demonstrate with cell phone records and credit card statements that I was not within 500 miles of where the government claimed I was. As a result, one CP charge was dismissed outright and I was found innocent of the second. Yet the prosecution languished, and my defense was able to demonstrate the testimony provided by the government’s third forensic analyst, John Marsh, was wildly inaccurate.The vast majority of Marsh’s testimony –Moreover, several of the dates the government claimed to have observed my IP/GUID sharing child pornography at my residence, I was easily able to demonstrate with cell phone records and credit card statements that I was not within 500 miles of where the government claimed I was. As a result, one CP charge was dismissed outright and I was found innocent of the second.





Finally, the charging papers create the impression that not only did I hide my work laptop from investigators, but that there was some urgency to destroy it before investigators could get their hands on it. This also could not be further from the truth. Transcribed audio recordings easily prove that investigators were explicitly made aware of the existence of this laptop as well as its location the day they searched my home.





Despite having explicit knowledge of this laptop, there was never any attempt by investigators to retrieve it from my home, nor any instructions for how I should handle or care for the laptop after it was returned to me. The only contact I had with law enforcement after the initial search was to provide documents pertaining to a number of firearms in my home (all of which were legally obtained, stored, and licensed). Besides that, there was no request or contact of any kind from law enforcement.





Frankly, they could have asked me to voluntarily surrender it and I would have happily handed it over like every other device I handed over. But they did not. They made no attempt whatsoever during the nine months between the raid and when I was charged to retrieve this laptop. If they wanted this machine, they could have easily intercepted the package en route from Florida to my residence. They did not. They could have asked a judge for a warrant to seize it from my home. They did not.Frankly, they could have asked me to voluntarily surrender it and I would have happily handed it over like every other device I handed over. But they did not. They made no attempt whatsoever during the nine months between the raid and when I was charged to retrieve this laptop.





When that laptop was returned to me after the trial, I kept it. As much as I would prefer not to possess a physical manifestation of the emotional hardship that was endured during that time in my life, there is a certain an anxiety triggered every time I think about getting rid of it. I probably never will. Since they never asked for the laptop, I continued using it until it became necessary to upgrade a faulty drive that began blue-screening prior to the Florida job and became more frequent upon its return after being shipped from Florida to my residence. This became the basis upon which the prosecution attempted to argue I engaged in “destruction of evidence.” However, their attempts were not successful and the evidence clearly demonstrated that I was innocent, which is how the judge ruled.When that laptop was returned to me after the trial, I kept it.As much as I would prefer not to possess a physical manifestation of the emotional hardship that was endured during that time in my life, there is a certain an anxiety triggered every time I think about getting rid of it. I probably never will.









had to charge me after conducting the raid on my home. It was not until several years later that a more sinister and disturbing possibility emerged. The search warrant of my property relied upon testimony from a detective and member of the NOVA-Washington D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, named David Abbott. In 2015, Investigators also discovered that for at least two years, Abbott had used electronic communications to solicit sex from minors. For a long time, I believed prosecutors felt like theyto charge me after conducting the raid on my home. It was not until several years later that a more sinister and disturbing possibility emerged.The search warrant of my property relied upon testimony from a detective and member of the NOVA-Washington D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, named David Abbott. In 2015, Abbott shot and killed himself after being charged with two counts of molestation of two separate 13-year old boys Investigators also discovered that for at least two years, Abbott had used electronic communications to solicit sex from minors.





At present, efforts are on-going to determine the full extent of Abbott’s involvement in my case and whether there is any evidence of an ulterior motive for his testimony. The criminal behavior that Abbott was alleged to have engaged in was occurring at the same time he was drafting the search warrant of my property. I feel physically ill when I consider the possibility that this entire ordeal may have been the result of my son, who was 13 at the time, having been the target of an alleged child predator.At present, efforts are on-going to determine the full extent of Abbott’s involvement in my case and whether there is any evidence of an ulterior motive for his testimony.





It is the kind of experience that puts things in perspective and makes even the worst internet trolls seem utterly insignificant by comparison. I want to thank those individuals that withheld judgement and offered their support over the past week. But the truth is, I have already been through one of the worst things anyone can go through. I was falsely accused of a terrible crime (the type of crime that one can be fully exonerated from, and yet still receive a life sentence and the presumption of guilt due to the mere accusation). My wife suffered a miscarriage just before my trial began. And for five months, I went to bed every night worrying about how my family would survive if I was sent to federal prison.It is the kind of experience that puts things in perspective and makes even the worst internet trolls seem utterly insignificant by comparison.





I have tried my best to be responsive, direct, and fair to everyone in this community. To my earlier point, given the nature of certain elements and individuals in this community, I fully expected at some point my case would be used by certain people to advance their own agendas. Even those proclaiming to be legitimate journalists did not answer the phone when I called or attempt to learn the circumstances surrounding my charges and subsequent exoneration. Instead, they immediately went to various public spaces to spread misleading and blatantly false information. While I anticipated such attacks, I admit that I did not expect the vitriol to extend to individuals whose only crime was either to withhold their judgment or show their support. To those individuals, I am sorry. Such attacks are truly reprehensible and clearly demonstrate the motivations of certain members of this community. It is also the kind of event that provokes people to show their true colors.I have tried my best to be responsive, direct, and fair to everyone in this community.To my earlier point, given the nature of certain elements and individuals in this community, I fully expected at some point my case would be used by certain people to advance their own agendas.Even those proclaiming to be legitimate journalists did not answer the phone when I called or attempt to learn the circumstances surrounding my charges and subsequent exoneration. Instead, they immediately went to various public spaces to spread misleading and blatantly false information. While I anticipated such attacks, I admit that I did not expect the vitriol to extend to individuals whose only crime was either to withhold their judgment or show their support. To those individuals, I am sorry. Such attacks are truly reprehensible and clearly demonstrate the motivations of certain members of this community.





I have spent the past week making preparations to take legal action against those asserting themselves as bona fide journalists, but that have not only displayed a malicious and clear negligent disregard for the truth, but have also undermined progress in their purported cause, which is to help find Maura. Given what I have witnessed from certain elements of this community, I have no expectation that the viciousness and character attacks against myself (and others) will cease as a result of this statement. However, I do not intend to allow myself and my family to be dragged down the way others have. That ends now.I have spent the past week making preparations to take legal action against those asserting themselves as bona fide journalists, but that have not only displayed a malicious and clear negligent disregard for the truth, but have also undermined progress in their purported cause, which is to help find Maura.







