An independent legal review of the Certificate of Analysis provided by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science pertaining to DNA and related evidence in the case of Falls Church resident Michael Gardner, obtained by the News-Press this week, has indicated that Gardner was ruled out as the source of sperm discovered on the clothing of a 10-year-old girl he is charged with molesting in June.
The report references an unnamed “another person of interest” whose DNA had not yet been submitted to the lab. As of press time yesterday, the City of Falls Church had not responded to a query by the News-Press if a police investigation is underway into the source of the sperm found on the girl’s pajama pants.
In a new development in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in mid-January, an additional indictment against Gardner was filed in the Arlington Circuit Court Monday, charging Gardner with “aggravated sexual battery” against the girl, added to an earlier charge of “object penetration.”Charges against Gardner of “aggravated sexual battery” had also been filed earlier involving two other girls in the alleged June incidents.
