Computer maker sued for snooping, sparking allegations of child pornography in 1998

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

In a lawsuit filed in a Houston federal court, Scott Margulis claims Compaq technicians illegally accessed individual files on his computer's hard drive while in was in a Houston repair shop in August 1998.

Technicians allegedly discovered several photos depicting child pornography on the hard drive. That led to Margulis' arrest, jailing and indictment for possessing child pornography in August 1998. About a month later, the government dropped the charges.

"Compaq had absolutely no right to go in and look at the files," Margulis' lawyer, H. Thomas Hirsch, of Odessa, told the Houston Chronicle in Thursday's editions. Hirsch also said the computer had no child pornography.

Papers filed in the lawsuit seek to recover $150,000 in lost business due to Margulis' computer being seized during the short-lived federal investigation and $5 million in punitive damages from Compaq.

Compaq spokeswoman Kellie Harris declined comment, saying company policy prohibits discussing matters in litigation.

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