Facing 35-Year Sentence and Lifetime Registry: All Charges Dropped
State: Kentucky
Court: Nelson Circuit Court
Case Name: Kentucky v. D.O. Jr.
Lead Attorney: Tom Pavlinic
Co-counsel: Julie M. Kaelin
Judge: John D. Seay
Date: October 2013
Result: All charges dropped prior to trial.
D.O. is the 42-year-old biological father of K.G.O, who was 4 years old at the time the allegations arose. In the midst of a custody/visitation dispute and related domestic court involvement, K.G.O. claimed D.O “pinched and kissed her vagina”.
As a result of the allegations, he was charged with 4 felony offenses including First Degree Sexual Abuse and First Degree Sodomy. He faced a maximum of 35 years of incarceration and life-time reporting on the Sexual Registry.
Aggressive investigation and representation was undertaken including a pretrial challenge and hearing regarding the competency of the child, where we asserted that her claims were the result of suggestibility or taint induced by the natural mother. Kentucky does not legally recognize the concept of “suggestibility”, but psychological expert testimony was obtained and presented. Although the Court ruled in favor of the State, the Judge indicated he had “grave concerns” about the truthfulness of the child.
Motion filing, investigation and probing analysis continued between motion hearings and trial. At the time of jury selection, all charges were dropped by the State. Furthermore, we were able to obtain a court order that mandated D.O. would regain the partial custody of his daughter he had before the charges were filed, after a suitable period of supervised visitation.
Facing 20-Year Mandatory Minimum Sentence: No Megan’s Law Plea
State: Pennsylvania
Court: Warren County Common Pleas
Case Name: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Kelly P.
Lead Attorney: Tom Pavlinic
Co-counsel: Robert C. Greene
Judge: Gregory J. Hammond
Date: August 2013
Result: Guilty plea to a single misdemeanor with no Megan’s Law registration
In a 10-count criminal information, our client was charged with sexual molestation of a child age 10-14. The accuser was age 24 when the accusations were brought forth. The charges carried a potential 94-year maximum sentence including a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence. After exhaustive investigation, witness interviews and the retaining of a DNA expert, a plea bargain was reached to plead to a single misdemeanor count with a sentence range of probation to 3 months, and most significantly no sexual registry. Our client was sentenced to four years of probation.
State’s Expert Discredited; Inconsistencies of Child Witness Revealed
State: West Virginia
Court: Putnam County, WV
Case Name: West Virginia v. Roger D.
Lead Attorney: Tom Pavlinic
Co-counsel: Matt Clark
Judge: Philip Stowers
Date: April 2013
Result: Not Guilty (Jury Trial) ALL COUNTS
Our client was charged with Sexual Abuse in the First Degree; Sexual Abuse by a Guardian,Custodian or Person in a Position of Trust; and Use of Obscene Matter with Intent to Seduce a Minor. This was a huge victory in Putnam County, West Virginia for a number of reasons.
First, the judge in the criminal trial had presided over custody issues in family court. After hearing the evidence in that proceeding, he issued written findings of fact that Roger had sexually abuse his step-daughter continuously over a 5-year period. He refused to recuse himself, and the WV Supreme Court said he did not have to. Second, the judge refused a misdemeanor plea with lifetime sexual registration, saying that the plea was too lenient. Roger was facing 50 years and lifetime supervision over and above the registration. Third, the judge permitted the prosecution to call a previously undisclosed expert with only 2 days notice and would not grant a continuance. He said we could get our own expert – never imagining that we could and did! Fourth, the State paraded all its usual witnesses from law enforcement and the Child Advocacy Center. We were able to point out inconsistencies in the child’s testimony that were created solely through the State’s own evidence. The case began on Monday and the jury returned Not Guilty verdicts on all counts on Wednesday evening after nearly 6 hours of deliberation.
All Counts Dismissed After Extensive Pre-Trial Motions
State: Florida
Court: Circuit Court for Manatee County, FL
Case Name: Florida v. Mark R.
Lead Attorney: Tom Pavlinic
Co-counsel: E. Jon Weiffenbach
Judge: Nicholas
Date: March 2013
Result: ALL COUNTS DISMISSED
Our client was accused of performing sexual acts involving three of his natural children. He was charged with eight felony counts, including sexual battery of children, and lewd and lascivious molestation. Three counts were felonies that carried a sentence of life without parole. After more than one year of pre-trial motions, all charges were nol prossed (dismissed) by the Florida State’s Attorney Office.
