An Unofficial Site
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United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Name: Joshua M. Michael
Case: United States v. Joshua M. Michael No. 07-6005
Date Of Conviction: 2007
Plea: Not Guilty
Charges: Attempted Indecent Acts With A Minor and others, see below
Military Branch: Air Force
Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? NO
At the time of the offenses, Appellant was a student at the Defense Information School (DINFOS). At 8:40 a.m. on March 29, 2006, a student found a laptop computer while cleaning the male lavatory of the Navy student barracks. The circumstances indicated that it had been left there unintentionally. The laptop was closed, in the off mode, and had no outward markings identifying the owner. The student turned the laptop in to Petty Officer First Class Goeth and Chief Petty Officer Campbell who were military training instructors (MTI) on duty in the Staff Duty Office of the barracks that morning.
Since there were no apparent indicia of ownership on the outside of the laptop, Goeth opened it and turned it on in an attempt to identify the owner. The laptop displayed a log-on icon and the name “Josh.” The computer was not password protected, so Goeth clicked on the icon and displayed the desktop. A “Control Panel” icon was among the various icons on the desktop. He proceeded to the control panel and opened the “System Properties” icon where he observed that the laptop was registered to a person named “Josh.” At this point, Goeth consulted the roster of Navy students assigned to DINFOS living in the barracks. The roster showed three students assigned to the Navy barracks with the name “Josh.” Appellant was one of these three students.
Goeth was also aware that Appellant was on restriction and was required to check in with the MTI duty
office every two hours. Appellant had checked in forty minutes before and was not due to check in again until 10:00 a.m. Goeth did not attempt to contact or locate any of the three students named “Josh.” Instead, he returned to the computer and navigated to the “Recent Documents” section on the “Start” menu. He testified that he did so assuming he would find recent school work on the computer reflecting the owner’s last name. When he clicked the “Recent Documents” tab, it displayed a list of files with names suggesting they might contain child pornography.3 Upon opening one of the files, Goeth’s suspicions were
confirmed. He then immediately turned the laptop in to the legal office. Appellant was later determined to be the owner of the laptop.
The decision of the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed. The record is returned to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy for remand for further proceedings.
An Unofficial Site
Of United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Joshua M. Michael
Photographer’s Mate Airman Recruit
Convicted Sex Offender
Receiving And Possessing Child Pornography
