Thursday, March 29, 2007
From the associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has dismissed an indictment against a Bainbridge Island man accused of traveling to Asia to have sex with minors.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled the indictment against Gary Evans Jackson only met one of two elements enabling a prosecution under April 2003 federal legislation making such conduct punishable in the United States.

Jackson faced years behind bars if convicted under the Exploitation of Children Today Act. But the appeals court said the law did not apply to Jackson because it required that he travel to the foreign country and engage in illegal sex acts after the law was passed.

Jackson moved to Cambodia in 2001, well before the law was adopted. He was accused of having sex with boys in Cambodia after the law was passed.

Jackson pleaded guilty in 2005 to having sex with children under 18 in Cambodia on the condition that he could challenge the law on grounds it did no apply to him.

To read the official United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Ciruit opinion on the case, please click here