In many sex crime investigations, some of the most important evidence may already be sitting on a phone.
Text messages, social media conversations, photos, dating app messages, call records, and location information can provide investigators and defense attorneys with a detailed picture of what happened before and after an alleged incident. Simmons & Wagner specifically identifies cell phone data, including deleted messages, as evidence that can play an important role in sex crime cases.
For a Sex Crimes Defense Attorney in Orange County, CA, carefully examining that digital trail can reveal context that may be missing from an accusation.
Text Messages Can Tell a Bigger Story
A single message rarely tells the entire story.
Investigators may focus on one text that appears damaging, while earlier or later conversations provide completely different context. Defense attorneys can review entire message threads rather than isolated screenshots to determine what the parties were discussing, their relationship, and how they communicated before and after the alleged incident.
Simmons & Wagner notes that texts, messages, and emails may be used when evaluating defenses in sex crime cases.
This is one reason defendants should avoid deleting conversations after learning about an investigation.
Deleted Does Not Always Mean Gone
Deleting a text or social media message does not necessarily eliminate it.
Depending on the device, application, backup system, or service provider involved, investigators may be able to recover information that a user believed had disappeared. Simmons & Wagner explains that recovered communications can become central evidence in criminal investigations involving sex crime allegations.
Attempting to erase information can also create unnecessary complications. If you believe something on your phone could be relevant, preserve it and discuss it with your attorney before taking any action.
Social Media and Dating Apps May Provide Context
Instagram messages, Snapchat conversations, Facebook activity, dating apps, and other platforms can reveal information about how two people met and communicated.
Digital evidence might help establish:
- The nature of the relationship
- Plans made before an alleged incident
- Conversations afterward
- Dates and approximate timelines
- Photos or videos
- Statements that support or conflict with later accounts
This information can become particularly important when the people involved provide different descriptions of what happened.
Location Data Can Help Establish a Timeline
Modern phones can also contain information related to location and activity.
Depending on what data is available, digital records may help determine where a person was at a particular time, when they arrived somewhere, or whether their movements are consistent with an allegation.
That does not mean every piece of location information is automatically accurate or relevant. A defense attorney may need to examine how the information was collected, what it actually shows, and whether investigators are interpreting it correctly.
Can Police Search Your Phone?
Police generally cannot simply search the digital contents of a phone following an arrest without legal authority. California’s Electronic Communications Privacy Act regulates government access to electronic information and provides that electronic device information may generally be accessed pursuant to a warrant, subject to specified exceptions.
This makes the legality and scope of a digital search another issue a defense attorney may examine.
Did investigators obtain proper authorization? What information did the warrant allow them to search? Did the search go beyond what was authorized?
If digital evidence was obtained improperly, the defense may have grounds to challenge its use.
Do Not Hand Investigators the Context They Are Missing
If police ask to speak with you or request access to your phone, you do not have to make an immediate decision without legal advice.
A Sex Crimes Defense Attorney in Orange County, CA can evaluate what investigators are requesting and separately preserve digital information that may help your defense.
Simmons & Wagner are former Orange County prosecutors who understand how digital evidence can be used to build a criminal case and how that same evidence can expose weaknesses in the prosecution’s theory. If you are facing a sex crime investigation, contact Simmons & Wagner before deleting information, responding to allegations, or providing investigators access to your devices.