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A former UW-Madison student who is serving an eight-year federal prison sentence for jamming Madison police radios in 2003 could face child pornography charges after police on Wednesday finally cracked open encrypted files found on his computer’s hard drive.
Rajib K. Mitra, 31, who was convicted of interfering with emergency communications on Halloween weekend in 2003, allegedly stored child pornography on his computer, according to a search warrant filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court.
Police seized the computer in November 2003 from Mitra’s apartment. On it, the warrant states, police found encrypted and password-protected files and enlisted help from the FBI to examine those files.
While both agencies found evidence suggesting there was child pornography on the computer, and that it had been shared through file-sharing networks, no child pornography charges were issued because Mitra’s encryption of the files hampered efforts to view the material, the warrant states.
On Wednesday, with the help of Detective Rick McQuowen of the Milwaukee Police Department, Madison police Detective Cynthia Murphy was able to unencrypt the data and saw what she believed to be child pornography, according to the warrant.
A complete search of the hard drive is now underway, according to a statement filed with the warrant.
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