By Joe Johnson
A Superior Court judge last week dismissed charges against an accused child molester because prosecution of the case had been badly mishandled by Western Judicial Council District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez.
Judge H. Patrick Haggard dismissed the case against 38-year-old Christopher Mark David on the grounds that he had been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial and that Gonzalez had engaged in malicious prosecution.
David was arrested in August 2020 on allegations that he sexually molested a young boy and, after a judge granted bail of $5,000, he posted bond and was released from jail in March 2021.
The following month, a Clarke County grand jury returned an indictment charging David with child molestation, false imprisonment, and sexual battery of a child under 16 years old.
At his arraignment, David pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On July 13, 2021 David was examined by a psychologist from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities who determined that he was not competent to stand trial.
His attorney subsequently filed a special plea of mental incompetency, and after a hearing on the matter, Judge Haggard ordered David to participate in a DBHDD “outpatient restoration treatment” program.
The state agency on February 6, 2023 informed Haggard that restoration treatment for David had been unsuccessful and was discontinued.
David’s bond was revoked the following month because he had been arrested in Forsyth County for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
The judge convened a hearing on November 14, 2023 to determine what was needed to bring David’s case to a final resolution, and he gave the District Attorney’s Office 30 days to file a brief that discussed various options.
The DA failed to file the brief, and a second hearing on the matter was held on February 27 of this year.
The DA’s office again failed to submit a brief, and David’s attorney filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed.
Haggard wrote in an opinion that while the state had unlimited discretion to indict David again, his constitutional rights may have warranted dismissal of a second indictment.
“The Court understands that Defendant has been charged with serious crimes,” the judge stated,“Nonetheless, since (David’s) indictment, the State has failed to take any action concerning the prosecution of his case or the treatment of his intellectual disabilities. Accordingly, dismissal for want of prosecution is appropriate.”
A defense motion had noted that the case had been all but forgotten until David’s probation officer “reactivated” it by requesting that his bond be revoked for the drug arrest in Forsyth County.
The dismissal of the case was reported in a story published by The Oconee Enterprise on April 10, and less than two months later the DA’s office re-indicted David on charges that were identical to the original indictment.
On July 2, Assistant Public Defender Kaitlyn Beck filed a motion arguing that the case should be dismissed for two reasons: that David had been denied his right to a speedy trial, and that the second indictment amounted to “vindictive prosecution” because Gonzalez apparently had been embarrassed by The Oconee Enterprise story about the original indictment being dismissed.
“The State deliberately ignored the instructions of this Court for a significant period of time to participate in discussions of what to do with Mr. David’s competency status,” Beck argued in her motion. “The State declined to participate either because the subject was too complex, this case was not a priority…or because there was no answer the (DA’s office) could give that would satisfy (its) position,” and they “deliberately failed to engage in the prosecution of Mr. David’s case until they received bad publicity about it.”
Anyone who has been sexually assaulted or knows someone who has can contact The Cottage Sexual Assault Center and Children's Advocacy Center. The agency provides a range of free services to child and adult victims of sexual and physical abuse, including advocacy, referrals, counseling and support groups. The Cottage also maintains a 24-hour crisis and information hotline at (877) 363-1912. For more information visit www.northgeorgiacottage.org
If the child-victim resided on Boulevard this case would have been prosecuted.
This really chaps my A$$. We should be marching in the streets to get this incompetent DA out of office before the end of the day.
Cesspool, you need to read both dismissal orders. It's not the Judge. The Judge did not ask for a second indictment. In the orders the Judge lays out the law that required him to dismiss both indictments. Everyone should read the orders to understand the Judge did his job and followed the law. The DA did not. www.athensclarkeclerkofcourt.com Case nos. SU21CR0116 and SU24CR0402
So if he was found incompetent to stand trial, why would a judge ask for another indictment where he would again be declared incompetent to stand trial?