A former reporter for Fox 5 was convicted Thursday for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl and possessing child pornography, the Cliffview Pilot reported.
A New Jersey jury found Emmy award-winning journalist Charles Leaf guilty after a trial that lasted nearly a month.
"It was a long process to get through this trial," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Kenneth Ralph told the Cliffview Pilot. "And the trial itself was quite lengthy. The state's evidence was thoroughly reviewed and tested. We appreciated the time and effort the jury put in at arriving at this fair and just verdict."
Leaf, 44, was arrested in 2010, but was out on bail from then until the trial. The investigative reporter maintained that he did not assault the 4-year-old, who is now 8.
The girl said in 2012 that Leaf molested her. However, during her trial testimony the girl said Leaf never touched her and that her nanny told her to lie, the Cliffview Pilot reported.
Brian Neary, Leaf's defense attorney, told the court that 21 minutes were missing from a video of an interview between the girl and investigators. The girl, who was allegedly influenced by an investigator, changed her story after the gap.
"It's a scary day when you have a witness who says it didn't happen, and a tape that's erased, and the defendant is convicted anyway," Emile Lisboa, another defense attorney, told the Cliffview Pilot.
Ralph told the court the girl only changed her story because she "betrayed [Leaf] by telling the secret he told her to keep," the Cliffview Pilot reported.
It took the jury two days to deliberate, finding Leaf guilty of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, child endangerment, possession of child pornography and tampering with evidence.
According to the Cliffview Pilot, Leaf flinched slightly when he heard the verdict.
"Tell the kids I love them, Monica," Leaf told his wife as officers took him away.
Sentencing was scheduled for June 6. Leaf, whose bail was revoked, faces 20 years in prison with the charge of aggravated sexual assault.
