Prosecutors: 'Hundreds' of Child Porn Images Found in Molestation Case

Cobb County prosecutors say that a former mayor and current city council member in Kennesaw possessed hundreds of images of child pornography and want that evidence included in his upcoming trial on charges of child molestation, according to a report.

Leonard Church stands accused of fondling a 7-year-old boy while showing him pornographic images during May of 2014, according to an indictment filed against him in January. Leonard Church is facing one count of child molestation, one count of aggravated child molestation, and four counts of sexual exploitation of children.

The indictment claims Church possessed child pornography as early as 2006, including five images of young girls’ genitals and one image of a young boy’s genitals.

Prosecutors said in a Thursday hearing that Church possessed more than 300 images of child pornography and around 100 pieces of sexually suggestive but legal images of children, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

Prosecutors want to include this evidence in Church’s trial to show that he possessed more than the four images of child porn he was indicted for possessing, the MDJ says.

Cobb County Judge Mary Staley agreed with the prosecution for the time being and ruled the evidence was admissible on a temporary basis, meaning Church’s defense team could still argue against its inclusion in the trial, according to the MDJ.

Church served as the Mayor of Kennesaw between 2000 and 2008, and was on the Kennesaw City Council at the time of his arrest on charges of child molestation in late June of last year.