## Facts

- A police officer responded to a mall-security report of an older man masturbating in a vehicle and found Roderick McArthur with his genitalia exposed; he was arrested for public indecency.
- During an inventory of McArthur’s property, officers found a laminated photograph depicting a nude male child with an adult erect penis superimposed on the child’s body.
- After receiving Miranda warnings and waiving his rights, McArthur gave statements admitting the public-indecency conduct and describing sexual urges; he provided a written apology.
- A detective specializing in child-pornography investigations learned McArthur had prior sex-offense convictions involving minors and had failed to register as a sex offender.
- The detective obtained a warrant to search McArthur’s residence based on the indecency arrest, the wallet photograph, McArthur’s criminal history and registration failure, and an assertion (based on experience) that collectors of child pornography commonly retain such material at home.
- During execution of the residential warrant, officers seized McArthur’s computer and arrested him for failing to register.
- McArthur consented to a preliminary search of the computer, which revealed evidence of child pornography; officers then obtained a second warrant authorizing a forensic computer search.
- Forensic analysis found child-pornography images in the computer’s unallocated space; testimony indicated a reinstallation of the operating system could move data into unallocated space, though the analyst could not pinpoint the source of each image.

## Issues

1. Whether the residential search warrant was supported by probable cause, including a sufficient nexus between suspected child-pornography possession and McArthur’s home, such that suppression was unwarranted.
2. Whether evidence of child-pornography images located in unallocated space, together with surrounding circumstances, was sufficient to prove knowing possession under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).

## Decision

- The court affirmed the denial of the motion to suppress, holding that the warrant application established probable cause under the totality of the circumstances and supported a reasonable inference that additional child pornography would be found at McArthur’s residence.
- The court noted that McArthur consented to an initial computer search and that investigators also obtained a separate warrant for a forensic examination.
- The court affirmed the denial of the motion for judgment of acquittal, holding that a rational factfinder could conclude McArthur knowingly possessed child pornography despite the files being located in unallocated space.
- The conviction and sentence were affirmed.

## Legal Principles

- Probable cause for a search warrant is assessed under the totality of the circumstances and requires a fair probability that evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched.
- A nexus to a residence may be established by reasonable inferences from evidence of ongoing involvement in child pornography combined with investigative experience that such material is commonly kept in secure locations such as the home.
- Voluntary consent can authorize a search; obtaining a warrant for further forensic review provides independent judicial authorization for expanded examination.
- Knowing possession of digital contraband may be proven by circumstantial evidence; files located in unallocated space may support an inference of prior access, downloading, or viewing when coupled with corroborating context and control over the device.

## Conclusion

The Eighth Circuit held that the residential warrant was supported by probable cause and a sufficient connection to the home, and that child-pornography evidence found in unallocated space—considered with forensic testimony and surrounding circumstances—permitted a finding of knowing possession.


United States v. McArthur, 573 F.3d 608 (8th Cir. 2009)