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Prosecutors were not barred from trying to resurrect the dismissed charges, and District Judge Tina Talim’s decision leaves Mariani with child abuse, neglect or endangerment counts and a single count of lewdness with a child under 16. “At the outset, the Court emphasizes that nothing in this Order constitutes a determination of Defendant’s guilt or innocence, nor does the Court make ultimate credibility findings concerning any complaining witnesses,” Talim wrote. “The questions presently before the Court concern the legal validity of particular counts and the procedures by which those counts were obtained.” A grand jury indicted Mariani in April on counts of lewdness with a child under 16, child abuse, neglect or endangerment and open or gross lewdness in the presence of a child or vulnerable person.
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