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WPS principal remanded to jail
Weindl not eligible for court-appointed counsel
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has found Whispering Palms School principal Thomas Weindl not eligible for court-appointed counsel.
“I’m sorry Mr. Weindl, based on your financial information, you do not qualify for court-appointed counsel,” Manglona told the principal during a detention hearing yesterday.
Weindl is facing charges for using a netbook to review several child pornographic materials, mostly of 11-year-old girls.
The judge informed the 57-year-old Weindl that he is facing serious charges and that he should hire a private counsel.
Attorney David Banes appeared as counsel for the defendant. Banes, however, told the court he is withdrawing as counsel.
Weindl asked the court how he could take care of financial matters such as signing or writing checks if he is detained. “I just don’t understand how it works,” he added.
Manglona suggested he could talk to his wife and his lawyer for such arrangements.
Manglona also ordered Weindl’s continued detention and remanded him to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
Preliminary hearing will be on July 13.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Weindl last week on charges of receipt of child pornography and accessing child pornography with intent to view.
According to the complaint, the Public School System-issued netbook was issued to the son of an FBI special agent. The special agent and his family are transferring to the U.S. mainland so the agent recently gave back the netbook to Weindl.
The special agent, however, had installed in 2011 an “e-blaster” on the netbook in an effort to monitor his son’s Internet use. E-blaster is a computer and Internet monitoring software program.
After the agent surrendered the netbook recently to the principal, he was surprised to begin receiving “e-blaster” reports indicating that the netbook was accessing the Internet showing child pornographic materials.
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
