Defense Attorney for Computer Crimes in the Tampa Area
In St. Petersburg, Clearwater and the rest of the Tampa Bay area, as in most areas of 
the country, computers have today become so common place and often essential in daily business and personal life that it is nearly routine for computers to be involved in some aspect of a criminal charge. Whether a computer was used to contact an alleged victim; to transmit or store photographs, messages or funds; or was tampered with by attaching physical devices or software to obtain information or damage computer systems, computers and computer-related hardware and software are often a focus of criminal investigations, charges and defenses. In the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater, Pasco County, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Pinellas County, Attorney Garry Potts has the experience and knowledge to assist you with computer related criminal cases.
Computer Child Pornography
Possession of child pornography is an extremely serious crime which is punished severely in both Florida State and Federal Courts. In recent years most child pornography criminal cases involve computers, which are frequently used to store, download or transmit photographs or other visual media which law enforcement allege to be unlawful. An experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to determine which legal issues are relevant in your case, such as identity of the person responsible for the computer and the files stored on it; the legal status of any photographic depictions used as evidence, as to whether or not they fit the definition of illegal pornography under the law and whether any Constitutional Search and Seizure issues have been violated by the government. Attorney Garry Potts has over 23 years of experience in the Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay areas with computer related crimes. As an Assistant State Attorney for Pinellas and Pasco Counties for 15 years, Mr. Potts helped prosecute some of the first computer-related crimes in the Tampa Bay area.
Soliciting, Enticing or Traveling For the Purpose of Committing an Illegal Act with a Child
Many criminal cases involve allegations of using computer equipment to meet children online for the purposes of soliciting them for unlawful, usually sexual, purposes. An investigative technique often used by law enforcement is to have an investigator pose as either a child or the parent of a child in order to attempt to find individuals online who are looking for sexual encounters with children. Often, plans are made online for the individuals to travel to the “childs” home town in order to meet. Obviously, any criminal charges alleging these acts are extremely serious and require representation by an experienced criminal defense attorney.
Offenses Against Computer Users, Computer Systems and Intellectual Property
Commonly called “hacking”, the violation of a computer system or hardware without permission is a criminal offense in Florida.
Computer Hard Drives and Storage Media Confiscated as Evidence
In many cases which involve other, non-computer-related crimes, computer devices and storage media become important to the prosecution and the defense of the case when they are confiscated by law enforcement pursuant to an arrest, or under a search warrant. These computer systems and media will usually be sent to a government crime lab for analysis and retrieval of stored information in an attempt to locate evidence of criminal conduct. Often, even erased memory data can be located and restored by knowledgeable computer experts. This type of forensic computer analysis and data recovery can often be as useful to the defense of criminal charges, in order to obtain evidence of innocence after it has been erased and thought to be long lost. The Law Office of Garry Potts will be able to evaluate your case in order to determine whether computer equipment and related evidence is relevant and necessary in your case.
