Judge Orders SF Political Consultant Charged With Possession Of Child Porn To Stay Away From Minors
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A San Francisco Superior Court judge issued a protective order Friday prohibiting prominent San Francisco political consultant Juan Enrique Pearce, who is charged with six felonies related to the possession and distribution of child pornography, from interacting with or photographing minors.
Pearce, a 41-year-old San Francisco resident who has worked on numerous high profile election campaigns, posted bail last month after being charged with felonies related to possession of child pornography.
The charges include possession of materials involving sexual sadism or sexual masochism as well as receiving stolen property, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.
Pearce was arrested on May 7 following a search warrant executed at his San Francisco residence that uncovered a cache of child pornography.
He has since entered a not guilty plea and remains out of custody on bail.
At Pearce's pre-hearing conference Friday, his attorney Edwin Prather, told Judge Ethan Schulman, who replaced Judge Robert Foley on this case, that the photos found on his client's cellphone that he took of young boys were for "advertising" purposes.
Assistant District Attorney Alexis Feigen Fasteau, however, said that the minors photographed, while fully clothed, were prepubescent, which she alleged is the client's preferred age group based on the thousands of images seized by authorities in the search of his electronic devices.
Prior to the allegations of child pornography, Pearce worked on political campaigns for U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as well as San Francisco supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee, among others.
Prather declined to say whether Pearce was continuing to work while his case was pending.
Last month, following Pearce's arrest, Feigen Fasteau argued that Pearce posed a public safety concern, noting that among the 4,902 images and videos of child pornography recovered from two of Pearce's laptop computers, there were graphic images showing sexual abuse of infants as young as six months old.
The investigation also uncovered 115 images stored on Pearce's cellphone, showing 11 clothed boys between 8 and 12 years old, who appeared not to know they were being photographed.
Those photos, allegedly taken by Pearce, include some that were taken on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, according to Feigen Fasteau.
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