During the criminal investigation into the shooting death of Mr. Mark Xander on April 3, 2011, a search and seizure warrant was executed on the residence of Mr. Charles “Pete” Richter, who was later formally charged with the murder.  As a result of the search and seizure warrant, evidence was obtained that has prompted the Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney’s Office to issue the current criminal charges alleging that Mr. Richter was in possession of child pornography.  The statute of limitations for the filing of these charges is one year from the date the evidence was collected.  Thus these charges had to be filed to meet the statute of limitations time requirements.  At this time the Office of the State’s Attorney has no comment as to the details of the child pornography charges.

The possession of child pornography charges are separate allegations from the current murder charges that are pending against Mr. Ricther.  No trial date has been set for the new charges.