Weldon Marc Gilbert, a Washington man who is on trial for raping young boys and for producing child pornography, will be allowed in jail to watch as much of that child pornography as he'd like, according to a report from KOMO-TV.
KOMO 4's Keith Eldridge reports that the Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that defense lawyers have the opportunity to review all evidence facing their client, and because the 50-year-old is acting as his own attorney, he'll be able to review all of that material.
"In my 16 years as a prosecutor, this is one of the most absurd and maddening results I've ever heard of, and this is the first time I'm aware of this happening in Pierce County," Mark Lindquist, a prosecutor in Pierce County, told ABCNews.com. "We don't have to turn over the guns used as evidence for a defendant ... and it's absurd that we have to turn over the child porn as evidence."
In Gilbert's case, the evidence includes over 28 hours of pornography on over 100 videos. Some of the video features him spanking and caning his young victims to the point of blistering, according to The Seattle Times.
The Seattle Times also reports that Gilbert, who was a pilot for UPS, attracted young boys with rides in his airplane, travel, alcohol and flying lessons.
Gilbert pleaded guilty in federal court in 2009 to producing child pornography, and received a 25-year sentence. But, The News Tribune reported, the deal was contingent on Gilbert also pleading guilty in state court to sex crimes, with prosecutors recommending a sentence of no more than 17 years, to run concurrently with the federal sentence.When a judge told Gilbert his state sentence could be as long as life in prison, he withdrew his guilty plea.
The News Tribune reported in 2010 that Gilbert faces 14 felony charges, including child rape, child molestation possession of "depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct."
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