Image Credit: Leadership Blount & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
An ex-Blount County Juvenile Court Magistrate was indicted last week for allegedly attempting to tamper with evidence on electronic devices belonging to her son when he was on trial in 2023 for child pornography charges.
According to the February 5 indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville, Dianne Elizabeth Lashmit was officially indicted on charges of tampering with proceedings, as well as accessory after the fact.
The indictment states that Lashmit is accused of aiding and abetting her son Julian Paul Gerdeman on August 11 and 14, 2023. Lashmit allegedly attempted to alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal child pornography on Gerdeman’s electronic devices so those images could not be used against him during a criminal prosecution.
It is also alleged that Lashmit was aware that her son had committed the crime of child pornography and still attempted to help him avoid being arrested or charged.
Gerdeman was indicted on several charges of child pornography back in March 2024. In September, he pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography.
Lashmit was appointed to the position of Blount County Juvenile Court Magistrate in 2013. A Blount County spokesperson told News 6 that she left that position in January 2024.
