PLEA DEAL? Austin Wolf Indictment Delayed While “Discussing Possible Disposition” Of Child Porn Case
Federal prosecutors have been granted a 30-day continuance in their child porn case against gay porn star Austin Wolf, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Getzel Berger telling the court that the DOJ and Wolf’s defense team “have had discussions regarding a possible disposition of this case.” A disposition would mean that the case would be closed, and there would be no trial. There is plenty of room for speculation as to what’s going on, given that Wolf’s arrest was on June 28th, and the government then had 30 days to file a Grand Jury indictment against him, which would’ve been presented in the July 29th hearing. That July 29th hearing has been continued to August 28th, and Wolf’s defense team did not object to the government’s request for the continuance.
When Wolf was arrested on June 28th, he was “charged by complaint,” which is a first step in a federal prosecution. The next step would be the Grand Jury indictment within 30 days, and one would think that the DOJ would’ve already had that ready to go after the arrest, their press release and ensuing media coverage, and Wolf’s ongoing imprisonment in the notoriously dangerous MDC. So, again, something is obviously going on, especially given the fact that Wolf agreed to the government’s continuance. Maybe a plea deal? The filings today obtained by Str8UpGayPorn announcing the continuance:
A little background on federal criminal cases and the Grand Jury via Saland Law:
A Federal criminal case can begin one of two ways – with the filing of a criminal complaint or of an indictment. A criminal complaint is a document prepared by the US Attorney’s office in conjunction with the law enforcement agency that investigated the case (FBI, IRS, Secret Service, etc.). It is presented to a Federal Magistrate Judge who determines if there is probable cause to know that a Federal crime was committed and that the person charged committed it. A person can’t be convicted solely based upon a criminal complaint. It is just a placeholder, allowing the government to begin a criminal case. Once it is filed and the defendant becomes aware of it, the government has 30 days to present the case to a Grand Jury for an indictment to enable the case to move forward.
More on how and why the Grand Jury is required here. This is a developing story…
