Kin defend soldier charged in child porn case - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Kin defend soldier charged in child porn case

The Army has charged an Illinois National Guardsman in Afghanistan with possession of child and adult pornography, and his family has come to his defense, arguing that he was the target of a personal vendetta.

After child and adult pornography was allegedly found on his laptop in August, Spc. William Miller of Galesburg, Ill., was charged Jan. 5.

Miller, 23, deployed as part of the Illinois Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He could face up to 10 years in prison for the child pornography charge.

Miller’s father, Rodney Miller, claims his son was “set up” by a soldier with whom Miller had a falling out. He said he doesn’t believe his son downloaded child pornography, but conceded his son probably had adult pornography.

“We’re not pleading the fact he’s an innocent. We’re adults; we’re not saying he don’t have porn on there,” said Rodney Miller, a 53-year-old Vietnam vet. “If there’s child porn on there, I don’t believe Billy downloaded it.”

Rodney Miller and his wife, Terri, said the charges stemmed from innocent photos of the soldier’s 4-year-old niece that his mother sent in July.

But the charges stem from other pictures, said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kelly A. Ogden, a spokesperson for Regional Command-East in Afghanistan.

“Our staff judge advocate has confirmed that the photos of Spc. Miller’s niece are not the photos associated with the preferred charges,” she said.

Rodney Miller told Army Times that other soldiers often visited Miller’s quarters, and said he believes someone else downloaded the child pornography.

“I think the Army needs to start enlisting robots instead of American soldiers, if that’s what they want,” Rodney Miller said. “It’s to the point where they’re looking at these poor young guys over there … as machines. They’re human beings.”

About 3,000 members of Miller’s brigade deployed in late 2008 and returned home in September. Miller is still in Afghanistan, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, awaiting a resolution of his case.

In a court-martial, the government would have to prove the photos are child pornography and that Miller knew he had it, said Dallas attorney Stephen Karns, who has defended similar cases, but does not represent the Millers.

Sentences tend to be lighter in the military than in federal courts because such cases are expensive and tough to prove. The Army would have to analyze the hard drive, learn when the photos were downloaded and compare those times with times when he had access to the computer, Karns said.

“That may be why you get better [plea] deals in the military, because every time they charge someone — I haven’t seen a case yet where the defense isn’t allowed to get their own forensic expert, and they cost a lot of money,” Karns said.

Miller’s parents have called on the Army to try Miller in the U.S. However, the command has already decided to keep the process in Afghanistan, said Ogden.