LAKE HAVASU CITY — A Lake Havasu City man who entered a mandatory prison plea agreement to resolve his child pornography case asked to withdraw from the deal at his May 10 sentencing hearing in Kingman. Casey Cassidy, 30, faced a 5- to 10-year prison term after pleading guilty to two charges reduced to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
Eight sexual exploitation of a minor counts were dismissed in the deal entered before Judge Doug Camacho on April 4. A police report indicated that Cassidy’s Dropbox account stored 81 files of illegal images of underage minors engaged in sexually exploitive exhibition or activity discovered during an investigation begun last June.
Defense attorney Paul Amann informed the court at the sentencing hearing that Cassidy wants to rescind his plea and take his case to trial. Amann said his client was “off his meds” when he entered the plea that he wants to nullify, given clarity now that he is back “on his meds.”
Judge Camacho noted the defendant indicated he was thinking clearly when asked before he pleaded guilty last month. Amann acknowledged that, but noted Cassidy’s position is that he would not have taken the deal had he been taking his prescribed medications.
A defendant must demonstrate he has suffered a manifest injustice for a Judge to kill a plea deal already accepted and entered. Judge Camacho postponed sentencing and scheduled a May 21 evidentiary hearing providing Amann opportunity to prove that implementation of the plea bargain constitutes a manifest injustice.
Otherwise, Camacho said he’ll affirm the plea and send Cassidy to prison on May 21.
Dave Hawkins
