An evidentiary hearing stemming from a motion to dismiss charges against one of the women charged in the First United Methodist Church daycare child abuse case did not bring a dismissal with Judge John Atkins giving attorneys another week to present written arguments.
Friday’s hearing in Christian County Circuit Court came after Bill Deatherage, the attorney for former pastor Paige Williams, raised questions about how the church’s video surveillance system was accessed, the video downloaded, and the system returned to the church by police.
Hopkinsville Police Department Detective Mike Luckingham testified that he downloaded part of the video needed to investigate the child abuse claims but later returned the system to the church which no longer has the video from the dates in question.
Deatherage argued that the missing evidence violates Williams’ constitutional right to due process. Special prosecutor Blake Chambers said the inability to present the video requested by the defense wasn’t intentional or malicious. Judge Atkins said he would likely not grant the motion to dismiss, calling it “extreme under the circumstances”. However, he did question the decision of Detective Luckingham to only download views from certain cameras and not just download the entire file. He then added he didn’t think that decision was motivated by any attempt to act in bad faith or hinder the defense.
Judge Atkins did say a missing evidence instruction could be given to the jury to consider as a part of any deliberations. He asked the attorneys to file written arguments with his ruling expected by May 25.
Williams is one of four defendants in the case. Attorneys for former daycare director Abby Leach and former employees Nina Morgan and Allison Simpson have also filed in the motion to dismiss the charges.
Williams and Leach are each charged with eight counts of first-degree complicity of criminal abuse of a child under 12. Simpson is facing thirty counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12 and Morgan is facing two counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child.
The charges are in connection to an investigation into the alleged abuse of several children by Simpson and Morgan that occurred at the church’s daycare between December 2018 and January 2019. Williams and Leach are accused of “breaching their legal duty to protect the eight minors less than 13 months old from Simpson and Morgan.”
The four women are scheduled to go to trial on June 13th unless a motion to dismiss is granted by Judge Atkins this month.
