Source: davisvanguard.org 7/26/25
San Francisco – On July 23, 2025, in Department 17 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Deputy Public Defender Maria Avalo Cruz argued that her client’s intellectual disabilities rendered him incapable of navigating the digital world, and thus he lacked the intent to possess child pornography—grounds, she said, for dismissing the charges.
Cruz asked Judge Brian J. Stretch to grant a motion to dismiss the case, contending that her client’s cognitive limitations made it impossible for him to intentionally obtain or store illicit content.
Deputy District Attorney Tanisha Gooch strongly opposed the motion, emphasizing the severity of child pornography possession and the need to hold individuals who obtain this content accountable. Gooch also attempted to invoke doubt in the factual basis of the accused’s intellectual disabilities, stating that there is no evidence or medical history submitted by the public defender to prove the claims.
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Avalo Cruz further stated that the accused does not belong on the sex offender list, as this case has been ongoing for seven years, and there’s been no further criminal or sex-related accusations. The accused has also been supported by his immediate and extended family throughout the process of navigating criminal accusations and mental health challenges.
After hearing both the public defender and the district attorney, Judge Stretch stated that although there’s a low risk of reoffense, the motion to dismiss would not be granted because of lingering questions about intent and the mental state of the accused. The case will be continued to a pretrial conference on Sept. 10, 2025.
“Deputy District Attorney Tanisha Gooch strongly opposed the motion, emphasizing the severity of child pornography possession and the need to hold individuals who obtain this content accountable. “
LE / our system is completely inept at keeping children safe and finding crimes against children at the source. There is no prevention strategy. So they accumulate possession convictions, as if that’s ever going to stop the proliferation of csam, and they insist it is a severe crime and must be punished severely. Yet people abusing children in all sorts of horrific ways are never held accountable – including those in power. What a lie these LE have sold themselves so they can feel better about what they are doing.