VA - Michael Gardner, Falls Church, charged with aggravated sexual battery

Michael Gardner of Falls Church ordered to have no contact with children after being charged with aggravated sexual battery by sexually abusing three children, girls under the age of 13

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (WUSA) Michael Gardner, 47, is accused of sexually abusing two girls at his daughter's 10 year birthday party last weekend. Police say it happened overnight in the Gardner's Falls Church home. Another girl came forward to say she too was abused two days earlier.

People who know the family say there was nothing that would have warned the parents who brought their girls to the party.

Melissa Sisson knows the family well and has a daughter who is friends with the daughter of the suspect. She says nobody can blame the parents who let their children go the sleepover. "They've know this family for five years. had no reason to know," she said through tears and concern for the girls

http://wusa9.com/news/article/15610...orries-After-Dad-Charged-With-Child-Sex-Abuse

Husband of former Falls Church mayor charged with sex abuse


Michael Gardner, husband of former Falls Church mayor and current council member Robin Gardner, has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing three little girls inside their home.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/0...hurch-mayor-charged-with-sex-abuse-62773.html

It makes you want to give LDT's to parents hosting your children's events. God Bless these poor little girls.

BArf bag please .....

Michael Gardner's Attorney to FCNP: 'Categorical Denial'
By FCNP.com
Friday, June 24 2011 05:31:49 PM


In an exclusive interview with the News-Press late this afternoon, the attorney representing Falls Church City citizen-activist Michael Gardner against charges of child sexual abuse said that his client "has categorically denied any criminal behavior and would never knowingly harm any child.

http://www.fcnp.com/news/9538-michael-gardners-attorney-to-fcnp-categorical-denial.html

Falls Church City Arrest Shocks City, Garners Intense Media Coverage
By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF

June 24, 2011

Michael A. Gardner’s arrest Wednesday on charges of aggravated sexual battery and object sexual penetration involving three young girls has stunned Falls Church City residents, from neighbors to those who know him through his political organizing and writing.

But the case also has attracted area and national media attention from The Washington Post, MSNBC, several local television stations, and the Associated Press, whose version of the story was published on the web site of the San Antonio Express-News in San Antonio, Texas, Friday morning.

Court documents say that Mr. Gardner, who is married to former Falls Church City Mayor and current City Councilor Robin Gardner, was arrested after two girls, ages 9 and 10, reported the assault to their parents “individually and separately.” The girls had been at Mr. Gardner’s house June 18 for a sleepover birthday party with Mr. Gardner’s daughter, according to a request for a search warrant filed by Falls Church Police

http://fallschurchtimes.com/29524/f...t-shocks-city-garners-intense-media-coverage/

And another came forward stating she was assaulted two day prior, as we learned from the articles as well.

This changes my perspective on who my children sleep over with...currently it is relatives only anyway. But I can see believing that this is a City Counselor, former Mayor's home....must be upstanding.

It makes me nauseous.

Mid-July Court Date Set for Falls Church Man Accused of Sexual Battery Against Two Minors

Police took a saliva sample Wednesday from a Falls Church man charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and a single count of object sexual penetration. A search warrant had been issued for a saliva sample on June 21, the day before City of Falls Church Police charged Michael A. Gardner, according to Arlington Circuit Court records.

http://fallschurch.patch.com/articl...-accused-of-sexual-battery-against-two-minors

1st Court Date Set July 12 in Sexual Abuse Case Vs. Michael Gardner
By Nicholas F. Benton
Wednesday, June 29 2011 07:01:40 PM

City of Falls Church spokesperson confirmed to the News-Press Wednesday afternoon that City resident and prominent citizen-activist Michael A. Gardner is due in a Falls Church courtroom at City Hall July 12 to face charges of sexual assaulting three young girls in alleged incidents at his home on two separate occasions earlier this month.

Gardner's arrest last week sparked regional and national coverage, given his role in the community as husband of former mayor and current City Council member Robin Gardner, and as a past chair of the City's Democratic Committee, and high-profile blogger and local-issues columnist who wrote in the News-Press. It also provoked a firestorm of mostly angry reactions on websites reporting the arrest, including at the News-Press' website, FCNP.com

http://www.fcnp.com/news/9573-1st-court-date-set-july-12-in-sexual-abuse-case-vs-michael-gardner/

awful....just awful

poor little girls

So, he would "never knowingly harm a child"? Was he in a fugue state?

I'll be interested to see how this plays out. Another similar case has met with a huge amount of police and political bungling...the Jerry Dantin case out of Grand Isle, LA. That's the one (we have a thread) where LE couldn't find batteries for a recorder nor write "fast enough" to take a statement. Yeah right.

Let's hope that Gardner's case is handled in a more straight forward manner. It is utterly shocking how many threads we have concerning child abuse and men of power.

"On September 29, 2014, the Arlington Circuit Court Grand Jury returned two indictments charging Gardner with Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Child, with offense dates spanning 2009. The victim in the case is a family member who was under 13 years of age at the time she was assaulted"
http://fcnp.com/2014/10/01/f-c-s-michael-gardner-arrested-for-felony-sexual-battery/