## Facts

- Swiss authorities alerted the FBI that an Arkansas IP address was distributing child pornography through the GigaTribe file-sharing platform.
- The FBI traced the IP address to a residence associated with Matthew Fee and his fiancée Danika (Keck’s daughter); consent searches of their devices found no child pornography.
- Fee and Danika identified Joseph Keck, a long-haul truck driver who periodically stayed at the residence, as the likely user; agents learned Keck had a prior child-pornography conviction and was being investigated elsewhere for similar conduct.
- When Keck returned to the residence in his van, FBI agents questioned him and seized multiple electronic devices from the van without a warrant.
- Agents later obtained a search warrant for the seized devices; the searches uncovered child pornography files and evidence linking Keck to downloading and sharing activity.
- Keck was convicted on five child-pornography-related counts in federal district court and sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
- On appeal, Keck challenged the denial of his suppression motion and argued the evidence was insufficient to prove attempted distribution.

## Issues

1. Whether the warrantless seizure of electronic devices from Keck’s van violated the Fourth Amendment, or was permissible under the automobile exception based on probable cause.
2. Whether the trial evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for attempted distribution of child pornography based on Keck’s use of GigaTribe and related proof of sharing activity and intent.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the convictions and sentence.
- The court held the warrantless seizure of Keck’s devices from his van was lawful under the automobile exception because agents had probable cause to believe the devices contained evidence of child pornography offenses.
- The court held the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find attempted distribution, based on Keck’s active use of file-sharing software and corroborating data and files.

## Legal Principles

- Under the automobile exception, law enforcement may seize items located in a vehicle without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe the items contain evidence of a crime.
- Probable cause may be supported by linked investigative leads (IP-based distribution reports, elimination of alternative suspects through consent searches, identification by residents, and relevant criminal history and ongoing investigations).
- A later warrant-authorized search of seized devices is consistent with upholding a warrantless seizure when the seizure itself is justified by a Fourth Amendment exception.
- For attempted distribution of child pornography, evidence of active use of file-sharing software, together with contextual proof (such as logs and file evidence), can permit a reasonable inference of intent to share, even if proof of completed transfers is not direct.

## Conclusion

The Eighth Circuit upheld the warrantless seizure of electronic devices from a van under the automobile exception where agents had probable cause the devices contained child-pornography evidence, and it sustained an attempted-distribution conviction based on active file-sharing software use and corroborating evidence supporting intent to distribute.


United States v. Keck, 2 F.4th 1085 (8th Cir. 2021)