January 2026 | Legal Case Updates | Possession of Child Abuse Material & Criminal History Score

POSSESSION OF CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL: PORNOGRAPHIC WORK INVOLVING A MINOR IS POSSESSED IF CONTAINED IN CLOUD STORAGE

Law enforcement found pornographic images involving minors in Google cloud storage associated with an email that included the name and birthdate of Appellant’s former girlfriend. Prior to finding the images, when police were searching Appellant’s home, Appellant told policehe had multiple email accounts, including one with an email address with his ex-girlfriend’s name and birthdate, and that he stored information in his Google cloud account. At trial, the ex-girlfriend testified she never created or used this Google cloud account, and other witnesses established that the account was created at Appellant’s home IP address and that Appellant’s home and workplace IP addresses were used to access the account many times. Appellant was convicted of 12 counts of violating Minn. Stat. § 617.247, subd. 4(a) (possession of child abuse material).

In affirming the sufficiency of the evidence to support Appellant’s convictions, the Court of Appeals first holds that a Google cloud account is a “storage system of any other type” within the meaning of section 617.247, subd. 4(a). This subdivision prohibits possessing child sexual abuse material generally, on various types of electronic storage, and in “a storage system of any other type.” The court finds the only reasonable interpretation of this phrase is that it encompasses any type of storage system containing child sexual abuse material. Cloud storage is a form of storage system and, therefore, falls within the scope of section 617.247, subd. 4(a).

The court also finds the evidence was sufficient to prove Appellant constructively possessed the Google cloud account containing the child pornography and that Appellant knew or should have known the images involved minors. Appellant’s convictions are affirmed. State v. Whitcomb, A25-0268, 2026 WL 139042 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 20, 2026).

CRIMINAL HISTORY SCORE: MAY RELY SOLELY ON A PSI TO ESTABLISH THE VALIDITY OF A PRIOR CONVICTION AND THE DEFENDANT’S INVOLVEMENT ONLY IF THE PSI COMPLIES WITH MINN. R. EVID. 1005

Appellant appealed his sentence for first-degree aggravated robbery, second-degree assault, and threats of violence. The district court assigned criminal history points for three out- of-state convictions score. The presentence investigation report (PSI) included summaries of these convictions “based upon records made available to” the report’s author. On appeal, Appellant argues the State did not establish facts necessary to justify the inclusion of the out-of-state convictions in his criminal history score calculation.

The Court of Appeals finds that the State did not satisfy its burden when it relied solely on the PSI in this case. The State is required to prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence the validity of prior convictions, the fact that the defendant was the person involved, and that the crimes constituted felonies in Minnesota. The PSI here did not provide sufficient information to prove the validity of the out-of-court convictions or Appellant’s involvement, as it contained only summaries of the convictions without providing sources for that information. The district court abused its discretion by including the three out-of-court convictions in Appellant’s criminal history score. [State v. Johnson](), A25-0094, 2026 WL 139152 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 20, 2026).