Marine authorities caught Marine Pvt. Joshua Fry trying to run away and then authorities found child porn on his cell phone and his computer last summer (July 2008). Fry has been confined since then. News reports read that the 2008 incident was not the first time Fry was warned child porn was unacceptable.

His family said he should never have been allowed to join the Marines to begin with because of his autism. They stated his recruiter found Fry at a group home for the mentally disabled and signed him up despite opposition from Fry's grandmother (also his guardian).