ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — A man accused of molesting a child and possession of child pornography could go free after a judge in Pinellas County found that a detective lied to obtain a search warrant in the case.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Circuit Judge William Burgess III found Pinellas County Sheriff’s detective Michael Alvarez engaged in a “ruse” to obtain a search warrant for a crime used to obtain evidence to prosecute for other crimes.
Burgess concluded the “likely effect of this order” is that charges against 63-year-old James Rybicki will be dismissed.
Rybicki was arrested following a 2016 search of his home. Detectives found videos of him inappropriately touching a child.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the detective left the department two years ago.
Defense attorney Lucas Fleming called the judge’s decision “extraordinary.”
What other people are reading right now:
- 'Unicorn meteor storm' to be triggered by mysterious comet Thursday night
- Navy veteran found in his apartment had been dead for three years, medical examiner says
- Jacksonville couple says squatters won't leave home
- Utah woman's stepkids saw her topless. She may have to register as a sex offender
- 145 coffins found at Tampa high school, part of erased African American cemetery
- The 'boat graveyard': Why are there more than a dozen old, sunken boats sitting in Tampa Bay?
FREE 10NEWS APP:
