Mother, sheriff confer on baby's disappearance in 1997

The Aisenbergs have accused the Hillsborough office of not doing enough to find their daughter.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published August 17, 2005

TAMPA - For the second day in a row, a parent of Sabrina Aisenberg has met with Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee to discuss possible leads in the child's 1997 disappearance.

Marlene Aisenberg sat down with Gee Tuesday, and her husband Steve met with the sheriff Monday.

Gee had extended an invitation to discuss the criminal investigation earlier this summer, after the Aisenbergs accused his agency of not doing enough to find their daughter.

"Sheriff Gee insists that he's doing the right thing and that he has new people on the case," said Aisenberg attorney Barry Cohen.

"I'm satisfied they're going to follow the facts and confident that they're going to do a better job."

Sabrina Aisenberg disappeared from her family's Valrico home when she was 5 months old. Her parents were indicted in 1999, accused of lying about her disappearance.

But federal prosecutors dropped charges in 2001 after a magistrate judge said audiotapes secretly recorded in the couple's home were mostly unintelligible. The Aisenbergs have a civil lawsuit pending against the Sheriff's Office, alleging their civil rights were violated through unfair prosecution.

A Circuit Court judge on Monday again denied the Aisenbergs' request to allow them access to Sheriff's Office investigative files. The judge agreed with the Sheriff's Office that the investigation is still open.

Also, sheriff's attorney Christopher Sabella has issued subpoenas in the civil lawsuit requesting that a Web site identify message board posters who have been critical of the Sheriff's Office handling of the Aisenberg case.

The agency subpoenaed Jeffrey Stull, who manages the local message board for LeoAffairs.com. The site provides a forum for former and current law enforcement officers, who post anonymously using screen names.

The Sheriff's Office already had sued the Web site in a separate civil suit in an attempt to identify anonymous posters who had written false, crude and revealing messages about the agency.

Sabella defended his use of subpoenas in the Aisenberg case.

"I think as the attorney defending the agency, I need to know what these people know, because I want to know everything that's out there in order to defend my client," Sabella said.