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© unknownRandy Jerome Pozdol

The federal government is now prosecuting Randy Jerome Pozdol, the Miami man accused of raping two apparently drugged children and videotaping the heinous acts.

Pozdol's case was unusual because one video discovered at his Miami house allegedly also depicted him attacking the two children's sedated mother - who died of a drug overdose in November 2006, a case initially ruled as accidental.

Investigators are reviewing the case to see whether Pozdol played any role in her death. His defense attorney insists that Pozdol had nothing to do with her overdose.

Until now, Pozdol had been facing state child porn possession charges in Miami-Dade, and capital rape charges in Broward.

He will be arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Miami. Last week, records show, a federal grand jury issued an indictment against Pozdol, 67, for producing child pornography and distribution of the illicit material.

On Monday, Miami-Dade prosecutors - under an agreement with the feds - followed their counterparts in Broward and dropped their case against Pozdol, who is currently in federal detention.

For prosecutors, the switch to federal court makes strategic sense.

Now, the prosecution of Pozdol's alleged crimes will take place before only one judge. Most importantly, the child victims won't be subject to emotionally trying depositions - sworn interviews with defense attorneys that are only available in state court, not federal.

As in state court, Pozdol is facing life in federal prison if convicted.

His defense attorney, Edward O'Donnell, said he was "relieved that all the charges will be under one roof." Pozdol will plead not guilty, he said.

The federal government took over the case after details of his arrest first appeared in The Miami Herald in July.

His family surfaced in the news again in August after a Miami police officer shot and killed his son, Drew Pozdol, 26, during a confrontation at an Allapattah restaurant.

Miami-Dade police first targeted the elder Pozdol, a retired carpenter, in 2009 as investigators were combing the files of "peer-to-peer" file-sharing networks, in which users can swap photos via the Internet.

Investigators raided his house at 1976 NW 25th Ave., and found his computer that contained sexually-explicit photos of children, police said.

Detectives also found a locked chest in Pozdol's bedroom that contained 160 VHS tapes and one 8mm tape, most showing adults having sex. But police say that three videos depicted Pozdol sexually assaulting two children and the now-dead woman while they were unconscious and presumably drugged.

Pozdol, who is married, was dating the 43-year-old Dania Beach woman on the side.

According to Broward County court documents, detectives eventually determined that the videos were set in the woman's Dania Beach apartment. One of her children later identified himself after viewing a screen shot of himself on the video.

The Miami Herald is not naming the woman so as not to identify her children, who were sexual assault victims.

The Broward State Attorney's Office charged Pozdol with the child rapes earlier this year.

As for the dead woman, deputies said her body was discovered in November 2006 after relatives were unable to reach her. She died of a combination of the strong pain-killer morphine and Trazodone, which is used to treat depression.

Her family was suspicious, especially after Pozdol showed up at the scene, claiming he had been with her the previous night.