Oregon Appellate Court - October 3, 2012

by: Sduclos • October 3, 2012 • no comments

ECSA > Plain Error to Allow Conviction Based on What Defendant Could Have Done with Images

It is plain error to convict defendant of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse (ECSA) based only on the presence of images in his computer's automatic cache of internet files. At defendant's trial for ECSA, the prosecutor used the theory that defendant "controlled" and "possessed" images because defendant could have saved, printed, or downloaded the files. Defendant objected to testimony on the issue based on relevance. However, defense counsel never argued the issue at the motion for judgment of acquittal, so the insufficient proof issue was not preserved on appeal. The court reverses on a plain error basis because the law is not reasonably in dispute, and to let the conviction stand would be a grave error. See also, State v. Barger,and State v. Richie. State v. Tilden, ___Or App __ (10/3/12).

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Per Curiam

Dependency - The court rehears and adheres to its former opinion that proof of mother's past medical neglect of a sibling does not pose a current risk of harm to the juvenile. Dept. of Human Services v. L.G., __ Or App __ (2012) (per curiam).