You are grossly under-estimating the ability of the FBI’s cyber forensics teams to discern whether or not data was planted maliciously or produced overtly, as well as under-estimating the ability of the courts and a jury to understand when someone is willingly producing CSAM versus accidentally being in possession.

This prosecution is the first of its kind for the DOJ. It is highly unlikely that they would pick this case to take to trial if there was not certainty about the actions the perpetrator engaged in.