Haslett man indicted on child porn charges

GRAND RAPIDS - The son of a Michigan appeals court judge has been indicted by federal officials on child pornography charges.

Sameer Gadola, of Haslett, is accused of soliciting nude photos from minors through social media as well as trying to meet up with them in person. He's been indicted on federal charges of enticing as well as sexually exploiting a minor. Gadola, who is in his early 20s, is the son of Mike Gadola, an appeals court judge and former counsel to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. His mother is Preeti Gadola, a member of the state's Tax Tribunal.

In a statement from Gadola's parents released by his attorney, Tom Cranmer, the couple said there is another side to the government's allegations.

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Haslett man faces federal child porn charges

In May of last year, the Shiawassee County Sheriff's Office received information that Gadola had exchanged Instagram messages with a 13-year-old boy and "appeared to be trying to meet with (the boy) for the purposes of sex," FBI agent Henrik Impola wrote in a complaint filed Jan. 9 in federal court in Grand Rapids.

In January, as Gadola was returning to the U.S. from abroad, the FBI ordered him stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and his iPhone was seized with a search warrant.

Gadola has been released on $10,000 unsecured bond. He's scheduled to appear in federal court in Grand Rapids on April 4.

The Association Press contributed to this report. Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.