In the same article and in other reports it was reported that
Pete was under "suspicion of possessing, making and distributing
child pornography." Let's understand EXACTLY what that means. If Pete
downloaded an illegal image from the net and then makes a single copy
of that image onto a diskette or CD, he is according to the letter
of the law "making and distributing" this material. Copying a
single jpeg is a FAR, FAR CRY from equating Pete's actions with a low
life who is trading in child pornography distributing or exchanging
materials with others for either pleasure or profit
I think the bit about suspicion about making and distributing came from the
amount of multimedia equipment they found in Pete's studio. They've got a
ton of Who videos to sort through looking for child porn.
You'll notice that Pete admitted to entering the site but not downloading.
I think the police can tell the difference between pics found in the browser
cache (assuming Pete hasn't emptied it) and those saved into folders for
future reference.
Last, I was thinking today that it's almost like Pete unconsciously
engineered this whole thing. He said he wanted to call attention to the
website and no one would pay any attention, so he left his calling card
behind--the credit card number--and eventually, the whole thing hit the fan.
Now he's got the publicity he wanted, though at huge cost to himself.
What is this operating, a crucifiction complex? :\