Man convicted of possessing child porn enters a second plea for the same charge

As potential jurors were checking in Monday morning at the jury assembly room of the Ukiah courthouse, a defendant -- dressed down in street clothes appearing ready for his day in court -- was upstairs pleading no contest to possession of child pornography.

When called for trial, defendant Russell Dean Haber, age 60, of Gualala, withdrew his prior not guilty plea and, in its place, entered a no contest plea to a single felony count of unlawful possession of child pornography having suffered a prior conviction for child pornography.

A no contest plea to a felony charge is the same for all purposes as a guilty plea.

At the time of the current March 2017 crime, the defendant was on supervised probation for his prior November 2013 child pornography conviction. His change of plea Monday morning constitutes an admission of his having willfully violated the terms of his probation.

After the defendant's change of plea and admission were entered on the record, the defendant's two cases were referred to the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department for a background study and sentencing recommendation. The defendant was ordered to return to court for sentencing on July 19th at 9 o'clock in the morning. Anybody interested in these cases or this defendant are welcome to attend the sentencing hearing on the 19th.

The defendant's state prison "exposure" is up to 80 months in state prison. The defendant has remained in the custody of the Sheriff since March 2017 and he will remain in custody pending judgment and sentencing.

The prosecutor who was to present the People's evidence to a jury was Assistant District Attorney Dale P. Trigg.

The law enforcement agencies that cooperated in gathering the necessary evidence for the prosecution were the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, and the District Attorney's own Bureau of Investigation.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder accepted the defendant's change of plea and admission this morning. Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke will be the sentencing judge on the 19th.