Firm trial date set for Payson business man charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

By Carolyn Wall

A firm trial date of July 20, 2011, has been set for Robert Thomas Flibotte, 73, a Payson business man indicted by a Gila County Grand Jury on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Flibotte appeared before Judge Peter J. Cahill in Gila County Superior Court in Payson Monday, April 11 for a pre-trial hearing.

The case dates back to October 2009 when technicians working on Flibotte’s computer allegedly discovered numerous images which were reportedly scanned into the computer of children under the age of 18 engaged in explicit sexual activity.

Payson Police were alerted and obtained a warrant to search Flibotte's Payson residence. Based on the evidence they obtained during the search, and additional evidence from Flibotte's office and images found on the computer,  the case was turned over to the Gila County Grand Jury.

According to the Payson Police report, Flibotte was arrested Oct. 8, 2009 and booked into the Gila County Jail. He bonded out on a $100,000 bond.

The case has continued since then while lawyers for the defendant and the prosecution haggled over the evidence. A state expert has been retained by Flibotte and is searching through 225 items taken into evidence on hard drives, floppy discs and source cards - evidence which Cahill described as "an awful lot of disclosure."

The expert in the case, who will act as a consultant, not a witness, was described as the only person in the state who does this kind of investigation.

Cahill told lawyers for Flibotte that the trial would go on with or without the expert's findings. Depending on the expert's analysis, the findings will determine what evidence can or cannot be admitted into court.

Flibotte's lawyer, Elizabeth Flynn, who participated in Monday's hearing by telephone, said, "It took us a long time to get the state's evidence."

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for May 9 at 11 a.m. in Gila County Superior Court in Payson. Cahill said he wanted the response from the expert no later than May 16.

The six-day, 12-juror trial, will be held in Globe July 20.