United States v. Nikolai Bosyk, 933 F.3d 319

Background

Bulletin Board A, a members-only dark‑web forum for child pornography, posted on Nov 2, 2015 a link (with password and thumbnails) to four child‑pornography videos hosted on a separate file‑sharing site.
File‑Sharing Site produced records showing that on Nov 2, 2015 at 3:23 p.m. an IP address tied to Bosyk’s home downloaded or attempted to download the file associated with that URL.
DHS Agent Eyler affidavit described these events and included generic behavioral "collector" boilerplate about persons who possess child pornography; magistrate issued a search warrant in April 2016.
Executing the warrant recovered thousands of child‑porn images/videos from Bosyk’s devices, including the video described in the affidavit; Bosyk was indicted, moved to suppress and for a Franks hearing, and pleaded guilty reserving the right to appeal suppression denial.
The Fourth Circuit majority affirmed: it found the affidavit gave the magistrate a substantial basis for probable cause (timing + forum context), rejected staleness and Franks challenges, and alternatively upheld the search under Leon good‑faith.

Issues

Issue	Bosyk's Argument	Government's Argument	Held
Probable cause to search based on one IP "click" of the URL	Single click is insufficient; affidavit didn’t show the click came from Bulletin Board A or that the clicker knew the link led to child pornography	Temporal proximity (same day) plus the link’s placement in a members‑only child‑porn forum permit reasonable inference the clicker knowingly accessed contraband	Affirmed — magistrate had substantial basis for probable cause given timing and forum context
Staleness — warrant issued ~5 months after the click	Even if probable cause existed in Nov 2015, evidence was stale by April 2016	Child‑porn collectors typically retain files long‑term; digital files persist; affidavit included collector behavior, so delay not fatal	Affirmed — delay not fatal here because inference of collector behavior and digital persistence made probable cause timely
Alleged omissions/misleading statements (Franks)	Affidavit omitted timing of the Bulletin Board A post and other material facts; boilerplate collector paragraphs were misleading	No deliberate or reckless omission; affidavit judged on what it contained, not what it lacked; Bosyk failed to make required preliminary showing	Franks claim rejected — no adequate showing of intentional or reckless omissions
Good‑faith reliance on warrant (Leon)	Warrant was so lacking that reliance was objectively unreasonable; affidavit was materially misleading	Even if warrant deficient, officers reasonably relied on magistrate’s issuance; panel disagreement shows objective reasonableness	Affirmed alternatively under Leon — reliance was objectively reasonable; suppression unwarranted

Key Cases Cited

Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (probable cause judged by totality of the circumstances; magistrate need only have substantial basis)
District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577 (2018) (probable cause does not require ruling out innocent explanations)
United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984) (good‑faith exception to exclusionary rule)
Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978) (requirement for hearing when affidavit contains deliberate or reckless falsehoods or omissions)
United States v. Richardson, 607 F.3d 357 (4th Cir. 2010) (child‑pornography staleness framework; collectors often retain files long‑term)
United States v. Vosburgh, 602 F.3d 512 (3d Cir. 2010) (upholding probable cause where IP clicked link to downloadable child pornography)
United States v. Gourde, 440 F.3d 1065 (9th Cir. 2006) (subscription/membership facts can reduce innocent‑visitor probability)
United States v. Falso, 544 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2008) (affidavit lacking details about actual access or downloads may be insufficient for probable cause)
United States v. Lyles, 910 F.3d 787 (4th Cir. 2018) (review standards for magistrate’s probable cause finding)