An Illinois Appellate Court threw out the child pornography conviction of a former Peoria police officer Tuesday.
John McCavitt was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 on child pornography charges.
The case centered around a search of McCavitt's personal computer. He argued the search was unlawful because the computer was seized during an earlier aggravated criminal sexual assault case and should have been returned to him after he was found not guilty on those charges.
Instead, a copy of his files were searched on a new warrant, and child pornography was discovered. McCavitt tried to have that evidence suppressed because he said it should have been deleted after his first case ended, but Peoria County Judge Kevin Lyons denied that motion.
The appellate court ruled that Lyons erred, and McCavitt's 4th Amendment rights were violated.
The case was remanded to Peoria County for new proceedings.
