By David Ovalle

The strange story of Jonathan Kent Lee began when a lover told police that the South Beach businessman enthusiastically showed him disturbing videos of children engaged in sex acts. Two days after police raided Lee’s apartment, he hurled himself to his death from atop a downtown Miami condo garage. Two years after Lee’s suicide, the extent of his crimes remains frustratingly unclear for police and prosecutors. On one laptop, detectives found 3,000 images of child porn, plus suggestive photos of a young local girl that may have been abused by the 50-year-old Lee. Investigators believe there may be more local victims, but their images are hidden in two external computer hard drives, locked and encrypted.

After months of efforts, state and federal cyber-crimes investigators have been unable to crack the hard drives — popular devices bought at any electronics store. Western Digital, the California company that manufactured one of the hard drives, would not commit to helping police and prosecutors, who eventually dropped their efforts with the company.

In the age of heightened sensitivity about cyber security, Lee’s case is one of a number across the country that highlight a growing challenge for law enforcement. Investigators often are unable to access increasingly encrypted electronic devices and they’re getting strong pushback with tech companies increasingly wary of government intrusion.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article88664577.html