Bought a PC with explicit pictures on it

[Marketplacemishap]

Name changed as I don’t want this linked to my other threads as I’m mortified and posting here for traffic.

Bought a PC off Facebook marketplace earlier today and have just set it up. Seller said it had been fully wiped/reset and everything was fine. PC pretty laggy but nothing we can’t sort. However, there were a number of folders left on the computer and in one of these folders was about 20 more folders, each containing very explicit images of different women - some seem to have been taken by the women and some seem to have been taken by the PC seller of various activities with these women. In some of the folders, there are also mundane images that seem to be like social media profile pictures of the woman in the images. There are also images of his wife. And then just thousands of generic holiday/pet/family snaps and videos but no other apps, files etc left on.

I messaged the seller and said he had left some explicit images on there and he sent crying laughing faces and said he knew and “delete them for fucks sake”. So it seems he’s knowingly sold this PC with these images on. He’s accessed/modified the files including these women’s pictures up until very recently (except the wife’s file).

What do I do?! I keep thinking just delete them all and get on with it but I also think what if his wife doesn’t know he’s clearly engaging in sexual activity with multiple other women? And I feel a bit dodgy owning this PC when the previous owner was very seedy. The lagging could also be down to nefarious use of the PC.

If he knowingly sold this PC with some explicit images on it (which from his reply to your message it sounds as if he did) I would feel concerned about using the machine yourself, in case it has malware or similar installed. You could replace the hard drive entirely, or at the very minimum do a clean install fo the operating system.

You bought second hand as cheaper than a pristine new unused machine.
Buyer beware.
You are not going to get your money back from him.

Factory settings are not enough to remove the images as pps have mentioned.

I’d replace the hard drive & format etc as soon as possible, or rather take it to tech support place to have it done quickly.

Once the existing drive is out & the PC with the new HDD works OK, take a hammer to the old drive to make sure it can no longer be read.

May be when he said I know, he meant he realised after selling. I would say get shredding/rewriting software and run it a couple of times, reformat. You shouldn't then be able to see it or recover it (unless you buy expensive recovery software?). In the likely event that the computer becomes part of a police investigation and they recover illegal images they should be able to check those against when you bought it.
Don't tell the wife. You have no idea what their arrangements are or what they are doing through (may be she knows and they are working with a counsellor or have an open relationship or he is cheating but it's none of your business)

I'd actually call the police and ask them to make sure the pics are legal.

I'm not 100% sure, but he may have committed a crime by selling the PC with those images on.

If you buy a second hand pc from a man, there’s probably around a 99% chance it’ll have had explicit images on it at some point or another.

Another vote for just delete them and get on with your life.

If police were to do whatever it is they do to pick these things up (and thank god they can!) then OP could be in the frame.

This is one of the reasons why I'd never buy a secondhand computer or device

Some if these replies are a bit extreme.

If there were any illegal photos downloaded and then deleted, the police could see when they were downloaded and when they were deleted.
OP can give the details of the person she brought it off and they’ll search their new computer which will most likely have other images on it.

No one gets done for being a peado by accident.