DARLINGTON - A former South Wayne man was bound over for trial in Lafayette County Circuit Court Wednesday on charges that he sexually assaulted a child.
Derek James Malone, 29, Gratiot, appeared in court with his attorney, Philip J. Brehm, on a Class B felony count of first-degree child sexual assault and a Class I felony count of exposing a child's genitals.
Lafayette County District Attorney Jenna Gill called witness Matt Edge, a detective for the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, to explain the circumstances surrounding Malone's charges. He said his involvement in the case began in 2016, but was based around an incident four years prior in 2012.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife contacted the police with a flash drive containing images of child pornography that she found in Malone's possession. In several of the images, Malone's hand - identifiable by a distinctive scar and ring - could be seen exposing the genitals of a sleeping child.
Despite the preponderance of images of child pornography reported to have been in Malone's possession, he faces no charges of possessing child pornography.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife had confronted Malone about the images when she discovered them in 2012. Malone told her that the drive was a "mistake" that he wouldn't have if the couple had sex more often, Edge reported.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife broke the drive in anger, only for the broken drive to go missing a day later. Without evidence, she declined to go to the police until the drive resurfaced in 2016, after their divorce.
The drive was broken in a way that prevented it from interfacing with a computer, but did not obliterate the data within, which was retrieved by Department of Justice forensic investigators, Edge said.
Brehm questioned Edge about the images on the drive. The face of the girl Malone seemingly exposed could not be seen, so her identity could not be proven, but Judge Duane Jorgenson ruled that Edge's testimony met the burden of proof required for a preliminary hearing to proceed to trial.
Malone will appear in court again on Thursday for an arraignment. His maximum possible sentence is 41.5 years in prison.
Derek James Malone, 29, Gratiot, appeared in court with his attorney, Philip J. Brehm, on a Class B felony count of first-degree child sexual assault and a Class I felony count of exposing a child's genitals.
Lafayette County District Attorney Jenna Gill called witness Matt Edge, a detective for the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, to explain the circumstances surrounding Malone's charges. He said his involvement in the case began in 2016, but was based around an incident four years prior in 2012.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife contacted the police with a flash drive containing images of child pornography that she found in Malone's possession. In several of the images, Malone's hand - identifiable by a distinctive scar and ring - could be seen exposing the genitals of a sleeping child.
Despite the preponderance of images of child pornography reported to have been in Malone's possession, he faces no charges of possessing child pornography.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife had confronted Malone about the images when she discovered them in 2012. Malone told her that the drive was a "mistake" that he wouldn't have if the couple had sex more often, Edge reported.
Edge said Malone's ex-wife broke the drive in anger, only for the broken drive to go missing a day later. Without evidence, she declined to go to the police until the drive resurfaced in 2016, after their divorce.
The drive was broken in a way that prevented it from interfacing with a computer, but did not obliterate the data within, which was retrieved by Department of Justice forensic investigators, Edge said.
Brehm questioned Edge about the images on the drive. The face of the girl Malone seemingly exposed could not be seen, so her identity could not be proven, but Judge Duane Jorgenson ruled that Edge's testimony met the burden of proof required for a preliminary hearing to proceed to trial.
Malone will appear in court again on Thursday for an arraignment. His maximum possible sentence is 41.5 years in prison.