David Rael, left, and his attorney Marc Edwards this morning in the First Judicial District Courtroom in Santa Fe. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos Police Cmdr. Oliver Morris in the courthouse ahead of testifying in the non-jury trial of David Rael this morning in Santa Fe. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

The non-jury trial of David Rael, 40, of Los Alamos began Wednesday morning in Santa Fe before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.

Rael is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children – manufacture, one count of sexual exploitation of children – possession and one count of sexual exploitation of children – distributing. David Rael was arrested in 2014 following an investigation by Los Alamos Police Department and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.

In June 2013, a special agent with the Attorney General’s Office was investigating the sharing of online child pornography when he identified Rael’s computer as a potential source for at least six files of interest. In July 2013, LAPD confirmed that the IP address belonged to Rael and then Sgt. Oliver Morris, now a commander, obtained a search warrant for Rael’s residence. Police and Special Agent Owen Pena went to the residence and took Rael to the station for questioning.

According to Morris’s incident report, Rael denied viewing child pornography. He allegedly mentioned to Morris that he had observed what he believed were underaged nude boys and girls in the pre-stages of a pornographic scene, but that he would exit out of them and not continue to watch them. Asked about specific files, Rael allegedly told Morris that he may have unintentionally downloaded them.

He allegedly stated that some of the illegal child pornography downloads may be attributed to his poor eyesight, that he is blind in one eye, and to him being intoxicated while intending to download legal pornography.

Through cursory checks of computers located at Rael’s residence, police found child pornography files and subsequently seized all electronics and software capable of containing child pornography. Morris’ report indicated that some of the equipment seized contained “images and/or visual mediums that depicted prohibited sexual acts or simulations containing participants that any reasonable person would know that some of them were under the age of 18”.

At Wednesday’s trial, Rael was represented by Marc W. Edwards and the State Attorney General’s Office was represented by Assistant Attorneys General Jason Yamato and Celedonia Munoz. Edwards told the Court he had filed a motion late Tuesday to exclude the testimony of the State’s computer forensic expert, Det. C.J. Brown. Edwards claimed he had received a disk from the State that was prepared last week and that his computer expert, Steve Burgess, maintained he would not have time to examine the contents before trial. Edwards claimed the contents should have been revealed prior to his pre-trial interview with Brown and that there was significantly more on the disk than had previously been supplied during discovery.

Yamato responded that the disk was produced because Edwards had requested more information and then complained that it was late. He said the trial had been continued in the past to allow Edwards to hire a computer expert, that the information on the new disk was always there since the inception of the case and that Edwards’s expert could have accessed it either in Menlo Park, Calif., or in Albuquerque. Yamato said that even if the new disk was suppressed as evidence, Brown should be able to testify on the original disk.

Judge Sommer questioned Yamato about the availability and contents of the new disk. Edwards said his expert had gone to Menlo Park and downloaded what he needed based on the State’s disclosures and that had he received the new disk earlier he would have downloaded more.

The judge told Edwards that his expert “decided when to stop”, that the information had been there and that the State had conducted another sweep, which she said was something Edwards could have done.

Judge Sommer agreed to allow Burgess to interview Brown about the new disk when he arrived in Santa Fe Wednesday evening. She agreed to hear testimony from former Special Agent Lance Fails concerning his preliminary examination of Rael’s computer when the search warrant was executed and from Cmdr. Morris concerning his involvement in the case and his interview of Rael. Judge Sommer then ordered the Court in recess until Thursday morning.

Updates on the trial will be available on the Los Alamos Daily Post website and in next week’s print edition.

Judge Marlowe Sommer listens to testimony from former Special Agent Lance Fails. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos Police Cmdr. Oliver Morris during his testimony at this morning’s trial. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com