Giardini's arrest baffles DA's office

MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) - A former Mobile Assistant District Attorney is out on bond Tuesday night after being arrested and charged with child sex crimes. Steve Giardini was a specialized child sex crime prosecutor for Mobile, making his charges shocking and ironic.

The arrest of Giardini came early Tuesday morning. It was a shock to people who know Giardini.

Most of his neighbors wouldn't say a peep about the arrest. Even those who worked closely with him, including several other assistant DA's, Sheriff Sam Cochran, and Child Advocacy Director Pat Guyton, have their lips sealed.

In April 2009, FBI raided Giardini's home. What they found in his Dauphin Street home is still a secret, but it was enough to arrest him Tuesday.

Giardini is accused of soliciting a 15-year-old girl over the internet to have sex. The girl he was allegedly contacting was an undercover FBI agent. The attorney general's office said he was going to produce pornography. This is something District Attorney John Tyson, Jr. said is unfortunate and a major shock.

"Completely disappointing, it was for us when found more than a year ago and you know, it just leaves me speechless. He was a trusted person and did some really fine work for us and for him to be involved in anything remotely like this is a huge disappointment," Tyson said.

Tyson said Giardini was specifically assigned to work with The Child Advocacy Center and its director, Pat Guyton, to prosecute criminals who committed sex crimes against children.

Guyton said Tuesday he would not make any comments on the arrest, saying, "He felt it was inappropriate to comment on the arrest at this time."

Tyson said he can see why Guyton is upset. He said Giardini duped everyone.

"He was a trusted member of that staff. They worked with him every day, those are the experts in the field and none of them had a clue about this. And so I'm sure there is a mixture of can't believe what they are hearing, to disappointment, to outright anger and hostility," Tyson said.

FOX10 News went to Giardini's home on Dauphin Street. While a car was in the driveway, no one came to the door.

His attorney, Dennis Knizely, tells us he had just received a copy of the indictment Tuesday afternoon and would have to look it over to learn more about the case. He said his client will plead not guilty.

Specifically, he is charged with:

• one count of acting with the intent to entice a child under the age of age 16 for intercourse, sodomy or other sexual purposes, a class C felony punishable by one to 10 years imprisonment

• one count of acting with the intent to criminally solicit the production of child pornography, a class B felony punishable by two to 20 years imprisonment

• one count of acting with the intent to entice a child for sexual purposes, by means of computer, telephone, personal digital assistant, or other electronic means of communication or information storage, a class B felony punishable by two to 20 years imprisonment

Giardini is of course innocent until proven guilty, and was released Tuesday on $250,000 bond.