MONROE - After receiving 25 years in prison on a conviction passed by federal court, a rural Darlington man will now have a jury trial in Lafayette County for similar charges of making sexually explicit videos of young girls.
Timmy J. Reichling, 47, appeared in custody in Lafayette County Circuit Court Wednesday for a status conference during which his defense attorney Frank Medina waived a plea bargain and demanded a jury trial for Reichling.
Authorities searching Reichling's parents' home in August 2013 found videos and photographs containing millions of images of child pornography, some of which included those of four victims he had contact with, according to the criminal complaint.
Reichling faces three Class C felony counts of child sexploitation, five Class D felony counts of possession of child pornography and three Class I felony counts of a registered sex offender photographing a minor without consent.
According to the criminal complaint, shortly after being released from prison in 2008 and while operating a computer repair business and living with his parents, Reichling began soliciting girls by email to send him nude pictures. He gave a camera to one victim so she could send him photos. Between March 2008 and October 2009, Reichling posed as a teenage boy on Facebook, seeking nude photos from minor females. A 13-year-old Michigan girl and another 13-year-old girl sent him nude photos. When the girls wanted to stop, Reichling coerced them to continue by threatening to send the photos to their families. He also hid a video camera in a bathroom and made sexually explicit video of a 16-year-old girl.
Reichling's federal conviction will not run consecutive to any potential penalties he could face in Lafayette County.
Reichling's attorney Medina asked that more than 40 potential jurors be called upon to be screened and vetted for a trial likely to begin in November or December. Judge James Beer decided 40 jurors would be more than sufficient, citing the small community of available jurors. Medina has yet to go through all the evidence seized by authorities and said he will go through the millions of images at the Division of Criminal Investigation in Madison. Defense and prosecution will have to find a jury of 12 individuals with two backups in 45 days. Reichling has a status conference set for Nov. 26.
Timmy J. Reichling, 47, appeared in custody in Lafayette County Circuit Court Wednesday for a status conference during which his defense attorney Frank Medina waived a plea bargain and demanded a jury trial for Reichling.
Authorities searching Reichling's parents' home in August 2013 found videos and photographs containing millions of images of child pornography, some of which included those of four victims he had contact with, according to the criminal complaint.
Reichling faces three Class C felony counts of child sexploitation, five Class D felony counts of possession of child pornography and three Class I felony counts of a registered sex offender photographing a minor without consent.
According to the criminal complaint, shortly after being released from prison in 2008 and while operating a computer repair business and living with his parents, Reichling began soliciting girls by email to send him nude pictures. He gave a camera to one victim so she could send him photos. Between March 2008 and October 2009, Reichling posed as a teenage boy on Facebook, seeking nude photos from minor females. A 13-year-old Michigan girl and another 13-year-old girl sent him nude photos. When the girls wanted to stop, Reichling coerced them to continue by threatening to send the photos to their families. He also hid a video camera in a bathroom and made sexually explicit video of a 16-year-old girl.
Reichling's federal conviction will not run consecutive to any potential penalties he could face in Lafayette County.
Reichling's attorney Medina asked that more than 40 potential jurors be called upon to be screened and vetted for a trial likely to begin in November or December. Judge James Beer decided 40 jurors would be more than sufficient, citing the small community of available jurors. Medina has yet to go through all the evidence seized by authorities and said he will go through the millions of images at the Division of Criminal Investigation in Madison. Defense and prosecution will have to find a jury of 12 individuals with two backups in 45 days. Reichling has a status conference set for Nov. 26.