Judge blasts Karr's prosecutors, may dismiss charges

San Francisco ^ | 9/25/6 | Peter Fimrite

[SmithL]

SANTA ROSA -- A Sonoma County judge handling the five-year-old child pornography case against suspect John Mark Karr threatened today to dismiss the charges and lashed into prosecutors for not telling her that key evidence -- a computer and hard drive containing sexually explicit images -- had been lost.

Superior Court Judge Cerena Wong said she will consider a motion from Karr's attorney, Robert Amparan, to dismiss the 2001 case on Wednesday, a move that if approved would set Karr free without his having to register as a sex offender in California. Wong also will consider whether to unseal evidence in the case.

Sheriff's officials admitted last week that they had lost the computer and hard drive that are the basis of the misdemeanor charges that Karr possessed child pornography when he lived and worked as a school teacher in the North Bay. They believe the computer was thrown out, along with 40,000 other pieces of evidence, when the sheriff's department moved to a new building in 2002.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Joan Risse said her office has printouts of 1,600 photographs from the computer, including the five that Karr is charged with having, but the original computer images are missing.

Wong castigated Risse for not informing her that the computer was lost even though she has known about it since Aug. 30. She said the sealing orders and other decisions were based on representations Risse made about continuing efforts to obtain more information from the computer.

[pointsal]

Ah...but forgot...

the act was committed by a lawyer!