Kennesaw City Councilman Leonard Church had hundreds of images depicting child pornography on his computer, according to Cobb County prosecutors, and a judge has ruled those images will be allowed at his trial.
Church, 67, was indicted in January on charges of aggravated child molestation, child molestation and four counts of sexual exploitation of children. His trial is set for Dec. 7.
Church, a former Kennesaw mayor, allegedly performed acts of a sexual nature against a child younger than 16 years old, according to the indictment. The aggravated child molestation count alleges that Church touched the child in a sexual nature, to the point of causing injury to the child. The child molestation charge accuses the councilman of showing the child pornography.
At a hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge Mary Staley ruled that additional evidence found on Church’s computer is admissible, the DA’s office said. Church’s attorneys, however, can challenge the admissability of the images found on Church’s computer during the pre-trial discovery period, a DA spokeswoman said Friday.
Church was mayor for two terms beginning in 1999. He was elected to the City Council in November 2013 and took office the following January.
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