A Howard judge is considering whether to drop child sex abuse charges against a former River Hill High School teacher whose trial was delayed because of an error by prosecutors.
Alan Beier, 54, of Columbia, was scheduled for trial in August 2008 on allegations that he sexually abused a male student, but prosecutors dropped the case at the last minute and re-indicted Beier using evidence that the alleged abuse began about two months earlier than they initially thought.
Beier’s new trial was scheduled for February, which his attorney Joshua Treem argued Friday was an unfair delay for Beier, who awaits trial in prison on a previous child sex abuse conviction involving another Howard boy.
“The delay we now face is not of our making. It’s compelled by the state’s 13th hour discovery of its failure to properly investigate the alleged date of this alleged act,” Treem told Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure.
Beier is accused of sexually abusing a minor male student while taking photographs of him as a promotion for the Mr. River Hill High School Contest in April 2006.
Beier initially was indicted for alleged abuse occurring in April 2006, but further review of evidence revealed photographs of the victim on Beier’s home computer from two months earlier in February.
“Now we’re saddled with another four or five months delay, and we have to go back and re-do our defense, at least in part, to deal with these new facts,” Treem said.
“I don’t think he should have a trial at all. I think it should be dismissed, because of what the state didn’t do at the cost of Mr. Beier.”
Beier, who was not present in court, is being unfairly prejudiced by the delay and will incur extra legal costs, Treem said.
The pending trial also ruins Beier’s chance at parole, which he’s now eligible for on the previous conviction, Treem said.
Prosecutor Claude de Vastey said the state admits its negligence, but “it was not a deliberate attempt to delay or circumvent” the trial.
She added that Beier is only eligible for parole on a previous second-degree assault conviction and not the child sex abuse conviction.
Leasure said she will consider a timeline of hearings leading to the trial delay and will issue a written ruling on the dismissal at a later date.
