That's such a cop-out on the part of the police that it isn't even funny. A ridiculous abuse of power.

It's like saying, "Well, I found out the drawer was locked later, but I didn't know that at the time because I didn't try to open it the normal way. I took the desk apart to see the contents of the drawer instead."

Or, "I didn't know the door was locked because I took the hinges off the door and that's how I gained access."

This case should be thrown out based on their abuse of power. Hopefully the police find a LEGITIMATE way to bust the guy.

And if the father has any sense, he'll throw the guy out of his house if he hasn't gone already.

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Also from the article:

It's as if the police entered the defendant's room with x-ray specs on and searched his bureau, closet and footlocker without needing to even ask his father whether these things were private or shared.

The Supreme Court expressly disavowed this technique in Kyllo v. United States, where it held that "obtaining by sense-enhancing technology any information regarding the interior of the home that could not otherwise have been obtained without physical 'intrusion into a constitutionally protected area,' constitutes a search -- at least where ... the technology in question is not in general public use."

(And I'm impressed by the article's thoroughness...)