Abuse case retrial ordered
The man was found guilty of abusing a girl on a flight.
By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published June 28, 2007
TAMPA - A federal judge has ordered a new trial for a Palm Harbor businessman found guilty of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl on a Southwest Airlines flight.
In an 11-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday said that he should have excluded the prosecution's allegation that Ronald Mays tried to destroy child pornography stored on his personal computer.
"Admitting the fact of Mays' deletion of child pornography profoundly adulterated the verdict, " Merryday wrote.
The judge said that information may have influenced the jury's decision to find Mays guilty of abusive sexual contact with a child. He ordered a new trial on the charge.
A federal jury also found Mays, 47, guilty of assault and obstruction of justice for erasing files from his computer after FBI agents requested it. But Merryday threw out the assault charge last week, leaving the obstruction conviction as the only count against Mays that has not been overturned or dismissed.
Frank Louderback, Mays' attorney, said he was pleased by the judge's decision.
"I'm glad to see the judge's ruling, " Louderback said. "I'm sure Mr. Mays will continue to fight this."
Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa, said his agency is "reviewing the order and considering our options."
A federal jury found Mays guilty of all three counts in February. He was facing a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison.
The complaint against Mays was filed by a grandparent of a girl who was traveling unaccompanied on a June 20 Southwest Airlines flight from Tampa to Detroit.
At trial, the girl testified Mays put his hand on her leg. The girl said she tried to squirm away. She girl told jurors the man reached across her to touch the plane's window and placed his forearm against her chest. She also said the man touched his pants frequently throughout the flight.
Carrie Weimar can be reached at 813 226-3416 or cweimar@sptimes.com.