Deleted child pornography
Deleted child pornography is child pornography that has been subjected to a computer's deletion process. It may or may not be recoverable using forensic tools or other methods.
There are different kinds of deletion. A file can be placed in the recycle bin, from which it can easily be undeleted without forensic tools. Once the recycle bin is emptied, then it goes to unallocated space. Until that space is overwritten with other content, it can still be recovered by forensic tools. However, it is no longer considered to be under the dominion and control of (i.e., possessed by) the person who possesses the hard drive, unless he has access to such tools.
In some cases, thumbnails or other remnants of child pornography may remain on the hard drive. The Vosburgh case was one example of this.[1]
Under federal law, if there were only one or two CP images, and a good-faith effort was made to delete them, this can be considered an affirmative defense to a charge of child pornography possession.[2]
