DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Doug and Kelly Nichols are set to appear before a Macon County Court judge on Thursday morning for the beginning of their bench trial.
Douglas R. Nichols and Kelly J. Nichols were arrested in December 2022 on child pornography charges. In addition, Doug was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault. Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
WAND is in the courtroom, and will continue to update this story with the latest information.
Last September, Macon County Associate Judge Lindsey Shelton reduced the couple's charges and dismissed six of the 18 child pornography charges against Kelly and two of the 12 child pornography charges against Doug.
Related Links
- Pair arrested for child porn, sexual assault plead not guilty
- Summer 2021 investigation ends in pair arrested for child porn, sexual assault
- Defense attorney argues dismissal of Nichols case in court
Doug still faces eight charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and four charges of criminal sexual assault. He will be tried in a separate trial.
During the morning session of the trial, a Decatur police detective testified about videos and photos he found on the couple's computer and hard drives from their basement. Some of the images dated back to 2002 and included images of their own children.
Defense attorneys argued that there isn't any proof about who took the images and that the photos weren't labeled or categorized. They further argued that the couple could have been completely unaware about the images on the devices.
Some of the images were shown in court, but the judge only permitted certain individuals involved in the case to see them.
One of the Nichols' daughters-- who is now an adult-- took the stand Thursday afternoon. She said her parents were very supportive-- and she never felt unsafe at home. Their other daughter is expected to testify tomorrow
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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