Opinion ID: 622724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Six-Year-Old Girl's Account of Her Interactions with Clark

Text: Clark protests that the six-year-old girl's testimony and the FBI investigation ought to have been excluded from the issuing judge and the district court's consideration of probable cause. With respect to the six-year-old girl's accusations, Clark contends that Vucich recklessly and falsely construed her account of the events in his affidavit. During the suppression hearing, he claims, Vucich testified that the child stated only that she had seen pornographic images on Clark's computer, not that he had deliberately shown the images to her. He underscores this distinction as subverting the affidavit's veracity and the resultant probable cause to search. The affiant's credibility is an issue of fact on which we afford special deference to the district court. See, e.g., United States v. Adamson, 441 F.3d 513, 519 (7th Cir.2006) (Credibility determinations are factual in nature and therefore are reviewed for clear error.). In this case, the district court considered the affidavit and had the opportunity to directly consider Vucich's testimony during direct and cross-examination. The district court concluded that his testimony was truthful such that probable cause to search existed and suppression was improper. We find no clear error in that judgment, particularly in light of the fact that, on cross-examination, Vucich never revised his testimony that Clark had asked the child to take her clothes off while he watched pornography with her nearby. Whether he was watching child pornography at the time is irrelevant, as is whether or not he intentionally showed the child the images: regardless of these distinguishable facts, he used a computer in conjunction with his attempt to fulfill a sexual fantasy with a minor child.