DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A new sentencing date has been set for a Decatur couple found guilty on possession of child pornography charges.
Doug and Kelly Nichols were both found guilty of possessing child pornography in Macon County Court in October 2024. The pair were set to be sentenced in November, but it has been postponed several times.
During Monday's hearing, the latest sentencing date originally set for April 24, was pushed back to May 19.
Earlier this month the Nichols' lawyer withdrew from the case due to a "conflict of interest." Their new attorney asked for the sentencing to be pushed back again so he had enough time to review evidence and read trial transcripts.
Due to all of the sentencing delays, the pre-sentencing investigations will expire. These will have to be done again before the new sentencing date.
A status hearing for Doug Nichols additional case will happen on May 19th as well. This includes 12 different counts including criminal sexual assault of a minor and aggravated criminal sexual assault of a minor.
Each charge can carry a sentence between two to seven years. Kelly was also found guilty of filming child pornography content, which requires mandatory prison time.
Both will be registered sex offenders for life.
Evidence presented during the trial included images and videos of the Nichols' daughters and other relatives, who were all minors, while nude. These were taken over the span of a decade, with the earliest image taken in 2002.
Both of the Nichols' adult daughters testified in defense of their parents, telling the court they grew up in a loving home.
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