Will fallen Internet wunderkind Patrick Naughton be a free man again? His legal team is waiting to hear if his original $100,000 bond will be reinstated, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a key portion of the law under which he was convicted for possessing child porn last week. And his attorneys are also reportedly seeking a new trial.
That ruling from the 9th Circuit Court came, in fact, just a day after the child porn conviction. The appellate ruling says the government can't ban computer-generated sexual images which only appear to be pictures of children. Because the trial judge had gone away for the weekend, the team had to wait until Monday for a ruling.
Naughton's legal team says they'll file for a new trial based on the point that the jury was given instructions which have since been declared unconstitutional, says APBNews. Naughton's team argued, a day before the appellate ruling, that the child porn stature might be overturned and thus Naughton should remain free until the court ruled. But prosecutors prevailed, arguing possession of child porn is considered a crime of violence, APBNews says.
Naughton had been led out of court in handcuffs and it appeared likely he'd stay behind bars until his March 6 sentencing. But when the 9th Circuit Court threw out that portion of the Child Pornography Protection Act of 1997, that killed the prosecutors' mandate to hold Naughton, APBNews says.
However, the appellate ruling upheld the part of the act relating to images of actual children. And Naughton's laptop computer included numerous child porn files when it was seized following his September arrest - including, APBNews says, pictures of an eight year old girl and her nine year old brother.
Naughton wouldn't be entirely off the hook even if his bond is reinstated, however. He also drew a hung jury on two charges involving whether he traveled to Santa Monica last September for a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl he met on the Internet - whom he says he believed was really an adult, and who turned out to be an undercover agent.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles tells APBNews prosecutors would weigh the evidence, the severity of the crime, and whether law enforcement objectives were served before they decide to re-try Naughton on the underage sex-related charges.
He was arrested in an apparent sting operation involving his online relationship with a 13-year-old girl identified online as "KrisLA" - who was actually an FBI agent online. He attempted to meet the girl in Santa Monica but, after suggesting they go separately to the beach below the pier, the "girl" revealed herself as a sheriff's deputy and he was arrested.
Naughton had been chatting in an online chat room known as Dad and Daughter Sex. He testified at his trial that he often visited such chat rooms for fantasy life as a way to blow off the stress of his powerful, high-tech executive life. But the prosecution argued he really believed he was involving himself with and looking to meet an actual 13-year-old girl.
