Fresno Criminal Lawyer Blog

In a recent development, a federal grand jury in Fresno indicted Chester Garber, a suspended attorney, on charges of child pornography. This case started almost three years ago after Mr. Garber's home was searched pursuant to a search warrant issued by the Federal Court. Charges hadn't been filed since that time. Mr. Garber, along with his wife and sister-in-law initiated a Federal civil suit in response to the search.

Although a grand jury has issued an indictment, he has not been arrested on the charges. Mr. Garber is accused of giving DVD's to a friend that contained nude depictions under the age of 18. In 2007, Fresno Superior Court Judge, Rosendo Pena, denied Mr. Garber's motion to obtain his property back and to eliminate evidence obtained after the execution of the search warrant at his house. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Garber initiated his lawsuit.

Without commenting on the state of the evidence, it leaves me puzzled as to why the Federal Authorities would wait almost three years to initiate a criminal prosecution after finding supposed evidence that Mr. Garber possessed DVD's with child pornography. Clearly, if that's the case, the Fed's would be interested in making sure that Mr. Garber did not continue to disseminate or possess such material by moving forward with a swift prosecution. Yet, that is not what happened. Hum? Makes you wonder why they are moving forward now. Any guesses? Do you think his suit against the government has anything to do with it? I don't know the answer to that question, but it does look suspicious.