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Computer Forensic Case Study - Child Custody
NOTE: PROTEGGA LLC respects the privacy of all parties involved in each of its cases and; therefore, will not disclose cause numbers, company or individual credentials, or other items that may lead to identification.
Scenario
Type of Case: Family Law
County: Rockwall
Plaintiff: Mrs. X
Defendant: Mr. Y
Description: Mrs. X and Mr. Y are divorcing and both desire custody of their two boys. Mrs. X had possession of a laptop computer shared between her and Mr. Y during their marriage. A computer forensic investigation of the laptop revealed some out of the ordinary activity. Armed with this information, an order was granted for an additional investigation of Mr. Y’s work computer.
Complication: There existed a Social Study unfavorable for Mrs. X. Due to the Social Study, Mr. Y had full custody of the children and was receiving $1,000/month from Mrs. X. Based upon Mrs. X’s current salary, her final child support payments were estimated to be $1,500/month.
Summary
Timeline
Investigation on Shared Laptop: June 7, 2006 through June 18, 2006
Judge Orders No Changes to Work Computer: July 7, 2006
Judge Also Orders Agreement to View Work Computer: July 7, 2006
Mr. Y’s Employer Sent Subpoena for Computer: July 14, 2006
Judge “Again” Orders Access to Work Computer: August 9, 2006
PROTEGGA Imaged Mr. Y’s Work Computer: August 26, 2006
Completed Analysis of Mr. Y’s Work Computer: September 18, 2006
Hearing to Discuss the Issue of Spoliation: November 20, 2006
Mediation Scheduled: December 13, 2006
Trial by Jury Scheduled: January 2007
Claims of Plaintiff
The Social Study was biased against Mrs. X and didn’t accurately portray Mr. Y’s true identity.
Defendants’ Response
Mrs. X is an alcoholic and a danger to the children. Anything Mrs. X claims is not true. I didn’t do it.
Computer Forensic Evidence Recovered
Pornography
Numerous examples were found covering a wide-array of pornography including, male, female, shemale, lesbian, very young women, and more. A few examples of violence and/or disrespect towards women were also located including a video taped incident with Mrs. X in their home. There was a small group of friends discovered that share their pornographic Internet findings frequently of which Mr. Y is included and actively participated.
The Social Study
Mr. Y extensively modified a witness’s original questionnaire responses with statements to make himself appear to be an outstanding parent and portray Mrs. X as a horrifying example of motherhood to the counselor performing the social study. The original, the modified, and the final questionnaire responses were recovered from Mr. Y’s work computer.
Evidence Eliminator
Mr. Y obtained, installed and executed this software tool specifically designed to thwart forensic investigations according to its developers, www.evidence-eliminator.com. This was done after a non-destruct order was issued. Mr. Y also took numerous steps in an apparent attempt to hide the installation date of this software. Mr. Y made a statement through his attorney that Evidence Eliminator was installed and maintained by the company as a matter of policy. The computer forensic evidence, coupled with the deposition testimony of Mr. Y’s employer and co-workers, proved this to be a false statement.
Conclusion
There was an abundance of data remaining on Mr. Y’s work computer exhibiting almost identical activity from that located in the original laptop investigation. Finding this similarity was the purpose in investigating the work computer. In addition, PROTEGGA uncovered substantial evidence to support claims of spoliation, multiple occurrences of perjury, and witness tampering.
During a final mediation attempt, a settlement was reached. The custody of the children was split between the parties, Mrs. X’s child support payments were eliminated, and Mr. Y agreed to reimburse Mrs. X for expenses caused by his spoliation. Based upon the statements from legal counsel, without the computer forensic evidence Mrs. X would not have reached such a favorable settlement.
For more information about PROTEGGA LLC or this case, feel free to contact us:
AskThePman@protegga.com
214.227.9752
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