Investigation in one case leads to charges in another
The three earlier cases against Jason Rezarch, 52, involved charges ranging from driving with a revoked license and misdemeanor theft to drug possession. In April a new filing brought six counts of possession of child pornography.
According to the criminal complaint officers were searching Rezarch's cell phone as part of one of the other cases, though it does not specify which. The officers flagged potential child pornography and sought a search warrant for that specific offense.
The images were among many more pornographic files depicting adults. But these showed prepubescent children, both male and female.
When investigators spoke with Rezarch about the images, he said any nude photos were from a nudist website and that he assumed everyone in them was over the age of 18 since they were publicly accessible. When shown a sanitized version of one of the pictures, Rezarch conceded the person shown was 'very young.'
He continued to insist he had downloaded the images from a nudist site and said he didn't 'understand why I would have saved that image.'
Each of the charges is a Class D felony. Such offenses are punishable by up to 15 years in prison and 10 years' extended supervision. Fines can reach $100,000. Rezarch has pleaded not guilty. He is next due in court on Sept. 9.
The application for a second search warrant, even though the police were already searching the phone illustrates one of the ways searches and evidence work. Generally speaking, warrants must be limited in scope, addressing an effort to find evidence for a specific offense. So, when the officers found evidence that pointed to an offense that went beyond the original warrant's limits, a new one was needed.
By way of example, if a search warrant specifies a specific room of a house, officers can't search the others. If the warrant covers all of the house, but only the house, they can't search a detached garage or back yard shed.
If officers ignore that and collect evidence that lies outside the scope of the warrant the court may find it to be inadmissible, potentially ruining the case.
Justia, a website that specializes in legal information, notes that the U.S. Supreme Court has found that warrants are required for digital devices, but 'cloud storage remains a subject of contention, with different courts reaching different conclusions.'
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pittsburgh man sentenced in drug ring that stretched into Beaver County
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has announced the ringleader of a Pittsburgh-based drug-trafficking organization has been sentenced to 9 to 18 years in prison for distributing controlled substances in Beaver and Allegheny counties. Dennis Alexander, 29, previously pleaded guilty to four counts of possession with intent to deliver, one count of person not to possess a firearm, and receiving stolen property. Alexander was living in Pittsburgh while selling heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, oxycodone, methamphetamine, and marijuana in multiple counties, according to a release from Sunday's office. When agents executed a search warrant, they found drugs and a firearm, which Alexander was prohibited from having. 'The defendant pushed a variety of poisons into western Pennsylvania, valuing financial profits over the harm he caused to people and communities,' Sunday said. 'He has had multiple opportunities to reform his criminal behavior, and this sentence reflects the danger his actions bring to our communities.' The charges resulted from a lengthy investigation by the Office of Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigations, which was assisted by the Beaver County Task Force, New Brighton Police Department, and City of Pittsburgh Police Department. Alexander, or one of his associates, sold controlled substances to a confidential informant or an undercover officer on a dozen occasions, authorities said. Alexander has two prior felony drug convictions in Pennsylvania, dating back to July 2016 and February 2017 Senior Deputy Attorney General Kara Cotter prosecuted the case. This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Man sentenced in drug ring that stretched into Beaver County Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
23 minutes ago
- CBS News
House panel subpoenas Clintons and other ex-officials in Epstein probe, seeks files from DOJ
Washington — The House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to a slew of former attorneys general and FBI directors, as well as former President Bill Clinton, for testimony about the case involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas seeking depositions from the former Justice Department officials were issued after Republicans and Democrats on a House Oversight subcommittee approved measures to authorize the demands last month as part of efforts by Congress to obtain more information about Epstein. House investigators also issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi for documents related to the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The committee is seeking testimony from Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as from officials spanning the past four presidential administrations: former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. Sessions and Barr led the Justice Department during President Trump's first term. Lawmakers are seeking information from the Clintons because of the former president's past ties to Epstein and Maxwell in the early 2000s. Letters to the officials from Kentucky Rep. James Comer, a Republican who leads the Oversight Committee, are all similar. The records from the Justice Department must be turned over by Aug. 19, according to the Oversight committee, and depositions are scheduled for throughout August, September and October. "While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell's cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government's enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell," Comer wrote, adding that the Oversight panel "may use the results of this investigation to inform legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations." Epstein was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in 2019 and died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial. He had been investigated by federal authorities in Florida in the 2000s, though that ended in a federal non-prosecution agreement and a guilty plea on state prostitution charges in 2008. But Congress has renewed its focus on Epstein after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo last month that concluded Epstein did not have a "client list" of prominent figures and confirmed he died by suicide. The memo also found that there was no "credible evidence" that the disgraced financier blackmailed prominent people. The Justice Department and FBI said they did not plan to release any further information about Epstein's case. The findings rankled some of Mr. Trump's supporters, who are skeptical that there is nothing else regarding Epstein's case to make public. Amid the backlash, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell late last month for two days in Tallahassee, where she was serving her sentence before being moved to a minimum-security facility in Texas last week. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. An appeal of her conviction is currently awaiting action from the Supreme Court. Blanche and Bondi have also asked federal judges in New York to unseal transcripts from the grand jury proceedings in Epstein and Maxwell's cases, though federal rules typically require matters before grand juries to be kept secret. Beyond the moves by the Justice Department, lawmakers have pushed for files related to Epstein to be released to the public. A clash of House members over the material led the House to scrap votes and leave Washington early for its monthlong summer recess. House Republicans put forth a non-binding resolution last month to make the files from the federal probe into Epstein public, but Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber would not vote on it until September, when lawmakers return from their break.
CBS News
23 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man struck, killed by pickup in Modesto on Yosemite Boulevard
A man has died after he was struck by a pickup truck in Modesto early Tuesday morning, authorities say. Modesto police say officers responded just before 5 a.m. near the intersection of Yosemite Boulevard and Santa Barbara Avenue to investigate reports of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. At the scene, officers found an injured man lying in the road. Medics soon pronounced the man dead, police say. Investigators believe the man was struck by a pickup that was heading east on Yosemite Boulevard. The driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with detectives. The name of the man who died has not been released by authorities. The intersection was closed through the early morning hours but has since been reopened.
