Ogle accused of ogling videotaping teen girls

By MARSHA DORGAN
Napa Valley Register

A Vallejo man arrested by Napa police for more than 30 counts of child pornography has been held to answer to four felonies and a laundry list of misdemeanors.

On Friday morning, Napa County Superior Court Judge Diane Price ended a preliminary hearing by saying Jeffrey Brice Ogle must face trial on several charges related to teens in Napa.

Price held Ogle, 34, to answer to three felony counts of possession of child pornography and one count of felony eavesdropping. Ogle also faces several misdemeanor charges, including one count of prowling, 13 counts of disorderly conduct and three counts of peeking, all of which are misdemeanors.

Ogle is charged for incedents that occurred over the past few months in north Napa, involving at least nine victims ranging in age from 16 to 18.

Ogle is accused of videotaping the teens in various stages of undress, some nude, in their bedrooms or bathrooms. Ogle trespassed onto the girls’ property through a fenced yard and videotaped them through the windows, without their knowledge of his presence, according to prosecutors.

Police believe that on one occasion Ogle climbed on a roof to videotape a girl through her bathroom window, according to the court records.

Ogle, who has no prior felony criminal record, was arrested on June 28, after a teen saw a man outside her window in the 3900 block of Lassen Street with a video recorder, according to the police report. The girl told her father, who scared the intruder off.

Police searched the area and found a pickup not far from the house where the prowler was reported. The pickup was backing up without its lights on. The officer made a traffic stop and questioned Ogle, who was driving, police said. The police said Ogle did not give them any legitimate reason for being in the area.

When officers searched the pickup, they found a video camera camouflaged with black electrical tape, a pair of gloves and a notebook containing several Benicia and Vallejo addresses.

The camera contained footage of several teen girls in various stages of undress, the police report said. One girl had been videotaped five times.

Conflict over arrest

That night Ogle was arrested for prowling, issued a citation and released on his own recognizance with a promise to appear on the citation on Aug. 6. However police continued to investigate Ogle while attempting to identify the other girls on the videotape.

After his June 28, arrest, Ogle, knowing police were investigating him, voluntarily went to see Napa defense attorneys Kelly Boyd and Theresa Harrington.

“Upon my suggestion, (Ogle) immediately enrolled in sex offender therapy. He paid for it on his own,” Boyd told the Register on Friday after Ogle’s court appearance.

Boyd said that on Aug. 6, she appeared in court for Ogle on the prowling citation. “At that time no criminal complaint had been filed by the district attorney,” Boyd said.

Boyd said she asked the court to put it into the record that if a complaint was filed to let her know, “I told them I would bring him in. I sent a letter to the DA telling them I was representing Mr. Ogle and informing them of my request to bring my client into court if they filed a complaint,” she said. “I got no response.”

While out on his own recognizance, Boyd said Ogle cooperated with investigators allowing them to search a storage unit.

On the night of Aug. 20, Boyd said Ogle’s family members called her to say there were about 12 police officers with dogs at the house where Ogle lives with his 85-year-old grandmother in Vallejo.

The officers had a $500,000 warrant for Ogle’s arrest. They were not able to locate Ogle at the residence.

The next day Ogle called Boyd and she accompanied him when he surrendered himself at the county jail. He was booked and held on $500,000 bail.

Boyd said she was disappointed the communication broke down and police were sent to arrest Ogle at his home. “All I needed was the word an arrest warrant was issued, and my client was ready to turn himself in,” she said. “I thought I would walk him into court. We tried very hard to make it work that way.”

Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein said the prosecution “is not bound by any agreement (defense) might have to bring someone  in, particularly when we investigated the case, and the basis of the investigation was that there were more charges — more serious charges — than we had anticipated,” he said. “Our office, the police and judge felt by issuing the (arrest) warrant it was the appropriate way to have Mr. Ogle brought in, and that’s the way it happened.”

Boyd admits the charges against Ogle are serious. “But he’s not a monster. He’s trying to do what he can to get help with his problem,” she said.

Ogle is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 10.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009