Fifteen months after a man suspected of producing and distributing child pornography was arrested, his trial has been delayed again after the emergence of new information in the case against him.
Matthew John Stickle, a 43-year-old Williamsburg man who faces 22 felony counts of producing child pornography, was granted a jury trial Friday during what was supposed to be a trial heard by Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty.
Stickle’s attorney, Patricia Nagel, said the girl accusing Stickle came forward with “explosive” new information regarding her access to his computer, which is being used as evidence after forensics experts analyzed it, according to police.
The accuser told Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Maureen Kufro in February she remembered using Stickle’s computer once while in his presence — something she did not mention while on the stand at a preliminary hearing.
Nagel said she found out about the computer usage Wednesday and asked for McGinty to dismiss the case based on the Kufro’s “failure to disclose” the information in a timely manner.
“We don’t have sufficient time to make use of the information [before trial,]” Nagel said, adding the information “totally takes us in another direction.”
She argued the new information brings on the possibility of the accuser having more contact with the computer than was previously known and shows inconsistencies in her testimony.
Kufro argued the new information about the accuser using Stickle’s computer one time was not material evidence and would not affect the trial.
McGinty chose to defer a ruling on the evidence and denied Nagel’s motion to continue the case.
Stickle, who waived his right to have his case heard by a jury in February, then requested a jury trial.
“A jury might be better suited to determine the facts,” Nagel said, citing Stickle’s Sixth Amendment rights.
She also asked that a second computer belonging to the accuser be forensically examined, but McGinty denied her request, saying it would be a “fishing expedition” given that an initial examination of the computer by police did not reveal any contraband or file sharing.
Stickle’s two-day jury trial is now set to begin at 8:30 a.m. June 2. A bench trial was initially scheduled for Feb. 19 but was continued after scheduling conflicts prevented Nagel’s expert witness from reviewing evidence on time.
Stickle was arrested Dec. 27, 2013, after investigators from the Williamsburg Police Department received a report about the distribution of child pornography and obtained a search warrant for his home on Claiborne Drive.
Stickle’s laptop was seized during the search, and a computer forensics scan revealed a “substantial amount” of child pornography, according to Maj. Greg Riley of the Williamsburg Police Department.
Stickle, who faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 65 years, continues to be held at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail without bond.
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