GUILTY WA - Andrew Kowalczyk charged with sexual exploitation of 3 young girls, Puyallup, Jan 2008

hipmamajen said:

What is CAS? (Sorry, I'm not up on all my lingo...)

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hipmamajen said:

What is CAS? (Sorry, I'm not up on all my lingo...)

Click to expand...

Puyallup, Wash., police believe the computer's owner, Andrew F. Kowalczyk, 33, may have been abusing the children shown in hundreds of images.

There were also images of four women and a hotel room on the computer of Kowalczyk, who was arrested at a hotel in Puyallup on Dec. 27, police said...

Kowalczyk has a long criminal history that includes convictions for assault and threatening others with a gun.

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Investigator Clark began his search for child *advertiser censored* pursuant to the warrant on January 4. He contacted Detective Visnaw later that day and reported recovering images and video of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The pictures did not show the offender's face, but one showed a silver watch on his wrist.

On January 5, Puyallup police issued a press release depicting four adult women whose pictures were found on Kowalczyk's computer, hoping that someone would come forward to identify the children.

That day, Detective Visnaw also applied for and received another warrant to search Kowalczyk's personal property stored at the jail, specifically for watches and rings, to compare with the images. After obtaining the warrant, he found a "Swiss Army" silver watch with diamonds or fake diamonds, which appeared to be the same type of watch as depicted in the photographs.

While reviewing the images again, officers found one depicting half of a woman's face with the two youngest children. Police released the image of half of the woman's face to the media.

On January 6, a woman later determined to be the mother of three of the victims called into the tip line. Her sister had seen the news coverage in the Portland area. She thought the children were hers. She asked for the name of the suspect and Detective Visnaw told her Kowalczyk. She began "to sob uncontrollably," said she knew him, and explained how she knew him. MTS-109, at KOWAL00097. She said that Kowalczyk had watched the two youngest children for her at times from approximately 5-6 months until they were 2-3 years old.

On January 7, Detective Visnaw learned that Kowalczyk sometimes went by the name "Jessie."

Portland Police Detective Darrell Miller was assigned to the case after learning that the children were from the Portland area. He attended a CARES Northwest evaluation for the three listed victims on January 11 and 18. Detective Miller attempted to contact the victims' mother on multiple occasions and finally spoke with her on January 22. He asked her questions about how Kowalczyk and she had met, where they stayed, and when he had access to her children. She confirmed he had, at one point, stayed at a motel under the name of "Jessie." At the conclusion of the conversation, Detective Miller told her he had a number of non-pornographic pictures to show her and asked her if she would be willing to identify where the pictures were taken. Detective Miller reported that she was willing to help.

Detective Miller met with the mother the next day at 4:15 p.m. She came with an advocate from Self Enhancement, Inc., who explained she was a domestic violence advocate who had been working with the mother and was trying to get her into an alcohol/drug treatment program. The mother identified a number of the locations and people. Detective Miller noted the mother smelled of alcohol.

The mother and advocate met with Detective Miller the next day, and again the mother identified several of the locations from photographs.

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the girls were pictured in ordinary snapshots. Police hope to learn whether these girls also were among the children who appear in pornographic photos, in which faces are obscured.

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Kowalczyk was arrested Dec. 28. He’s been charged in Pierce County Superior Court with three counts of second-degree identity theft, four counts of forgery, two counts of unlawful possession of fictitious identification, one count of unlawful possession of a personal identification device and one count of being a fugitive from justice.

Among Kowalczyk’s belongings, investigators found the child *advertiser censored*.

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Facing federal charges of sexual exploitation of three young girls, Kowalczyk, 39, has for more than six years flouted prosecutors, thwarted judges and derailed, frustrated and even frightened the lawyers appointed by the court to represent him.

"No one can take on the role of counsel for [Kowalczyk], because he takes steps, such as suing them, that create irreparable conflicts," U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman wrote last month. "By his own actions, [Kowalczyk] has made appointing him a lawyer impossible and repeatedly demonstrated his intention to use such appointments as a tactical delay."...

The oddity of Kowalczyk's case has created difficult legal issues for federal judges weighing his actions and the U.S. attorneys trying to convict him: When does a defendant waive his right to a lawyer, a speedy trial or both?

Mosman ruled last year that Kowalczyk had lost his right to a lawyer only after he fired his eighth lawyer. The judge later appointed a ninth lawyer, who has since left the case...

Kowalczyk's father, John, points to his son's long history of mental-health problems, and says his physical condition has worsened while in jail. He says there is no reason his son would want to delay his own case.

"He's nowhere near normal," John Kowalczyk says. "Where he needs to be is in a mental institution. That's where he would get the treatment and the care that he needs. Prison is just a death sentence for him."

But a psychologist for the government—and at least one of Kowalczyk's former defense attorneys—believes Kowalczyk has proven he's competent to stand trial...

" I have never had to endure anything remotely resembling what I have been through with [Andrew] Kowalczyk," Schindler, who lasted 10 months as his attorney, wrote in a motion to withdraw. "He is rude, threatening and abusive. Through his letters, he has called me incompetent, lazy, stupid, and has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with my representation."...

Grefenson had worked as a defense attorney for 23 years, often agreeing to represent unsavory and challenging defendants. He stayed on even after Kowalczyk threatened to stab him in the eye with a pencil, left a message with legal staff saying Grefenson was playing "death-wish games," and told the lawyer he knew where his family lived and they would never be safe....

Donald True, a Portland clinical psychologist hired by John Kowalczyk, told the court earlier this month that Andrew Kowalczyk is unfit. John Kowalczyk tells WW that his son hears voices, sees things that aren't there and believes his lawyers have been colluding with the government as part of "Satan's army" to put him away for life...

The government's psychologist says Kowalczyk's insanity plea is "disingenuous" and "contrived." "It is clear that Mr. Kowalczyk is malingering," clinical psychologist Richart DeMier wrote in an evaluation last June...

The toddlers Kowalczyk allegedly abused might not recall the crimes or be called to testify. But they are nearly teenagers today and have been kept in limbo by Kowalczyk's actions.

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U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman today said he believes Kowalczyk understands the charges against him and appears to have exaggerated his symptoms.

"However, I have serious questions about competency," he said, and "serious concerns whether Mr. Kowalczyk is merely malingering. I simply find that the question has not been adequately answered."

Mosman said the evaluation by DeMeir failed to take into consideration a pattern of paranoia dating back to Kowalczyk's teenage years that might indicate the defendant wasn't simply manipulating the court to avoid facing a jury...


"There's no question that Mr. Kowalczyk has some mental health issues," Gary Sussman, one of the U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case told the court. "But mental illness doesn't equate to a present incompetence to sand trial."

Sussman said two competency evaluations in Washington State found no indication of mental illness. Nine lawyers in Oregon have represented him and none has said they believed Kowalczyk was unable to aid in his own defense...

But Robert W. Reid, an attorney appointed to represent Kowalczyk as amicus counsel told the court that this mental illness wouldn't be obvious to most people – even to him.

When he met Kowlaczyk, Reid said he had never heard of delusional disorder. So it was easy to assume that Kowalczy was simply "one of the biggest jerks" he had ever met..


He said there was no question that Kowalczyk "is an unpleasant character who is maladaptive and very, very unpleasant. That's about the best that can be said about Mr. Kowalczyk's personality."

If Mosman was unsure about which evaluation to rely upon, the early signs of mental illness should tip the balance, Reid said.

And it did.

Mosman ordered Kowalczyk be sent away for evaluation by a different psychologist and scheduled a status conference for November.

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Dr. DeMier, the evaluating doctor from FMC Springfield, testified that Kowalczyk seemed “very invested in convincing me that he was mentally ill,” which is uncommon for people who are actually mentally ill and is more common in those who are malingering. Dr. DeMier did not administer any psychological tests because he believed that they would not be accurate due to Kowalczyk’s knowledge of the purpose of the tests. Dr. DeMier testified that he believed Kowalczyk was malingering and that he was competent to stand trial.

Dr. True, the defense expert, testified that Kowalczyk suffered from paranoid schizophrenia with a pattern of delusional disorder, a diagnosis similar to his first assessment of Kowalczyk where he found that Kowalczyk had Delusional Disorder, paranoid type. Dr. True testified that Kowalczyk’s mental illness affects his competency because it impacts his ability to work with attorneys and may lead him to fire them. Dr. True also emphasized the importance of using objective tests during psychological examinations. The court found that while Kowalczyk clearly understood the proceedings against him and was therefore competent on that factor, it was unclear whether Kowalczyk was incompetent on the second competency factor—his ability to work with attorneys...

On September 2, 2014, the district court ordered that Kowalczyk be committed to the custody of the Attorney General “who shall hospitalize defendant for evaluation and treatment” for not more than four months “to determine whether there is a substantial probability that in the foreseeable future defendant will attain the capacity to permit the proceedings to go forward.” If the evaluator determined Kowalczyk was malingering and was competent, the evaluator is required to issue a report to the court. If the evaluator determined Kowalczyk had regained competency then he or she is ordered to file a certificate with the court.

Finally, the court determined that if, at the end of the four month period, Kowalczyk remained incompetent, a hearing would be held to address further proceedings under 18 U.S.C. §§ 4246 and 4248.

Kowalczyk appealed the district court’s order. Kowalczyk also sought the appointment of counsel...

The bottom line is that Kowalczyk got what he wanted: the court found him incompetent to stand trial and ordered that he be treated at a federal medical facility. We remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with the views herein expressed.

AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.

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