Newport Beach Doctor Ecstatic After Child Porn Charges Dismissed

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Charges brought against a Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian oncologist were dropped this week, and the doctor is "ecstatic." Child pornography charges brought against Dr. Mark Rettenmaier several years ago were dismissed by a federal judge, the physician's attorney said Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors moved to have the indictment against Dr. Mark Rettenmaier thrown out due to lack of admissible evidence, according to Thom Mrozek, spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California (Los Angeles).

"Our decision to seek the dismissal was the result of the court suppressing key evidence in the case," Mrozek said.

Issues were raised earlier this year with how FBI agents achieved a search warrant, following up on a tip by the Best Buy Geek Squad, and subsequently searched the physician's computer. With the lack of admissable evidence, the U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed the case on Monday.

"He's ecstatic that all charges are dismissed," attorney Jim Riddet said.

Rettenmaier's legal problems began in November 2011, when he took his Apple computer into a Best Buy store for service and an image was found that prosecutors later concluded was child pornography. The doctor was indicted in September 2014.

A Geek Squad employee discovered the image and alerted the FBI, which led to a search of Rettenmaier's Laguna Hills home. Prosecutors alleged hundreds more questionable images were found in that search. The removal of that evidence incited the case dismissal, according to Mrozek.

Carney in May tentatively ruled against a motion to suppress the evidence based on the initial search of Rettenmaier's hard drive, but ruled the search of the doctor's home was improper. Riddet had argued the Geek Squad search was a violation of his client's privacy, but Carney disagreed.

Carney, however, ruled that an FBI agent made "several false or misleading statements" on a search warrant affidavit for the doctor's home.

"Perhaps most troubling, (the agent) falsely stated in the affidavit that the image was child pornography," Carney said, referring to the image of a naked girl found by a Geek Squad worker that triggered the investigation.

"However, the image, although distasteful and disturbing, was not child pornography," Carney said. "It was child erotica, the possession and viewing of which is not unlawful."

The agent "did not bother to view the image before filing her affidavit as she should have done so," Carney said, adding the agent depended on a description provided by another agent.

Also at issue was where the image was found. It was discovered in what is known as an "unallocated space" of the hard drive, which Riddet argued could happen to anyone without actively trying to download an image.

"There is no way of knowing it was there," Riddet told City News Service. "It could come onto your computer without your knowing it."

Riddet said the agents failed to tell the judge where the image was found. He also argued that the agents "concealed the fact" there were other warrantless searches of the computer.

One of the technicians who searched the computer for Geek Squad was an informant for the FBI.

Carney ruled that the child erotica image alone was not enough to trigger a search of the doctor's home.

Federal prosecutors argued that the agent couldn't provide an image to the magistrate judge to justify the search warrant, so the description of the image was offered instead, which would have been sufficient under the law at that time.
The agent "also described other images that displayed the vaginas of young girls. And that was enough to provide probable cause," Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Brown said at the May hearing.

Prosecutors filed a notice of appeal, but did not follow through, then filed a motion to dismiss the case this month.

"In this case, having evaluated the evidence remaining after the court's ruling on defendant's suppression motions, the government believes it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the case," the motion read. "Consequently, the government respectfully requests that this court dismiss the indictment against defendant."
Riddet said he "assumes" his client is attempting to get his privileges restored at Hoag.

Hoag Hospital officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read Also: Best Buy Geek Squad Child Porn Case Dismissed

Image courtesy Hoag Health Center