The Santa Clara District Attorney has declined to file charges against local blogger Robert Haugh because of “insufficiency of evidence,” District Attorney PIO Sean Webby told The Weekly Monday.
But with Webby away last week, it took the DA’s office four days to correctly answer a direct question about the status of the case, which had been referred to the DA more than a week before.
Haugh was arrested on Aug. 13, according to the Santa Clara arrest log. He was held in county jail over the weekend before being released Aug. 17.
PIO Cynthia Sumida replied to The Weekly’s request for information on Aug. 21, saying that the DA had no comment and would supply information on the case later the following week.
According to Haugh’s attorney Chuck Smith, the arrest was the result of a sexual abuse complaint made by the blogger’s ex-wife, in the course of a custody fight over their young daughter. The complaint was investigated by Santa Clara Police Department, which referred the complaint to the District Attorney.
“It’s true that children don’t lie about sexual abuse,” said Smith. “The one area where experts will tell you the claim may not be true is when the claim arises is in the course of a custody battle. It’s a classic situation.”
Haugh’s ex-wife had no comment and her attorney did not return The Weekly’s call.
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Haugh was arrested again on November 19th and is raising funds for a legal defense on his blog.