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HYPOTH ETICAL On September 21, 2018, the FBI received an e-mail tip from an anonymous user (AU) that on September 23, 2018, a woman will
HYPOTH ETICAL On September 21, 2018, the FBI received an e-mail tip from an anonymous user (AU) that on September 23, 2018, a woman will be crossing the US-Mexico border at the El Paso/Juarez crossing into Texas with inappropriate images of children on her electronic devices. FBI Agent Smart attempted to communicate with AU and requested more information about the woman. The AU refused to provide more information or to identify him/herself. The FBI also could not trace the AU except to figure out that the IP address was somewhere in Italy. In a subsequent communication, agent Smart assured AU that AU cannot be prosecuted in the US and that if AU happens to come upon more information about this woman, it will really help the FBI identify and apprehend her. The FBI nevertheless alerted all US-Mexico border patrol regarding the information provided. On September 23, 2018, Justa Felloni, a US citizen, was crossing the US-Mexico border at the El Paso/Juarez border with her husband and 3 children. The Fellonis appeared to have quite a few electronic devices in the car, including 3 laptops and 6 tablets. Justa identified 2 of the laptops and 2 of the tablets as belonging to her. She stated that she uses one of each for work and the other for personal use. The border agents asked Justa to provide her passwords for the devices, but she refused citing her Fourth Amendment rights. The border agents also ran a search which revealed that Justa did not have any criminal history but that Jimmy, her husband, had a 15- year-old conviction as a sex offender. Although Jimmy did not indicate which devices were his, the agents seized the third laptop. The border agents released Justa and her family but retained the electronic devices which they sent to the nearby digital forensics lab approximately 10 miles away from the border. On September 24, 2018, AU contacted the FBI yet again, this time providing Justa's name as well as several images of child pornography AU said were found on Justa's desktop computer after AU received Agent Smart's last message. In the meantime, the forensic team imaged the Fellonis' devices that were confiscated at the border and found many images of children (mostly boys) in sexually suggestive positions. Based on the information obtained from these devices, a warrant for electronic devices as well as any other media that may contain images of child pornography was issued and executed on the Fellonis' residence on September 24, 2018. A desktop computer was not found in the home, however, agents noticed that there was a faint discoloration on Justa's desk around a spot where a desktop computer could have been. The FBI interviewed the neighbors who mentioned that they saw the Fellonis unpack the car after returning from their trip, but then Justa's husband Jimmy took out a large box and put it in their SUV. The SUV was parked in the carport and based on the information, the agents decided to go ahead and search it. Jimmy had a hard time finding the keys to the SUV, so the agents used a trick to prop it open. Indeed, inside the SUV, there was an iMac. The iMac was seized. The FBI asked the Fellonis to provide the password, which they refused. However, the FBI managed to bypass the password. Many images of child pornography were found on the iMac as well. The images on the iMac were more gruesome and showed Jimmy molesting some of the boys in the images. All the images matched the images that were found and sent to the FBI by AU. All other electronic devices in the home were also seized and searched. No other device was found to contain anything illegal. Justa and Jimmy were arrested and indicted
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