82-Year-Old Mother Accused Of Witness Tampering

PALM COAST -- The 82-year-old mother of a man accused in a bizarre child porn and sex case was charged with witness tampering after the victim reported being threatened following a court hearing this week.

The victim, who was 15 at the time of the 2005 crime, testified in Monday's sentencing of Carla Rhea Maldonado, 41, to 5 1/2 years in prison. The former veterinary technician at Flagler Humane Society in September pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious battery.

Maldonado's husband David, 43, is also charged with lewd and lascivious battery as well as 50 counts of possession of child pornography.

After Monday's sentencing hearing, the victim told investigators David Maldonado's mother, Miriam Maldonado, gave her hostile looks in the courtroom and at one point had to be physically restrained by two people she was with during the hearing, according to a news release by Flagler County sheriff's spokeswoman Debra Johnson.

The victim said she tried to walk quickly to her vehicle after the hearing, but she was followed by the 82-year-old and two others who shouted, "You better watch out," "If you're smart, you won't come back," and "It's your fault Carla and David are in jail," the release states.

The victim reported the incident to the State Attorney's Office and sheriff's investigators.

Miriam Maldonado, of Warren Place, turned herself in Friday evening at the Flagler County Inmate Facility and was released after posting $10,000 bail, Johnson said.

Flagler sheriff's investigators initially charged David and Carla Rhea Maldonado after a CD containing photos from the couple's home computer surfaced in November 2008.

Included were 16 images that investigators said David Maldonado took of Carla Maldonado molesting the victim, reports state. An additional 27 pictures taken over several months showed Carla Maldonado engaged in sex acts with her German shepherd, investigators said.

At the time of their arrest, two computers were seized from the Maldonados' home and taken to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office where they were analyzed. Carla Maldonado did not face charges in connection with having sex with the dog because bestiality is not against the law in Florida.