Porn suspect says case against him is improper
- Original The Morning Call article: Porn suspect says case against him is improper
A Quakertown man accused of having marijuana and child pornography in his house claims his wife's attorney and a prison snitch are conspiring against him in his criminal case, which he argues should be dismissed.
Joseph Denton, 39, tried unsuccessfully Monday to get the charges against him dropped in Bucks County Court, but Judge Rea Boylan agreed to have prison phone records reviewed to determine whether another prisoner was calling prosecutors about Denton's case.
Denton claims his wife's attorney visited him in prison under false pretenses, wrongly claiming she was representing him before taking away critical information about his defense strategy.
He says a fellow Bucks County prison inmate befriended him and reviewed his personal information in his cell and reported back to the district attorney's office about it.
Denton described himself in court as a devout Christian with a doctorate in psychology and said the pornographic material he is alleged to have had were ''study materials.''
He's accused the district attorney's office of deceit and says ''my due process rights have been stomped on.''
''I have been left devastated,'' Denton said, speaking in court from a lengthy prepared statement.
Prosecutor Sara Rothman denied Denton's claims.
Boylan said Denton's accusations were not grounds for dismissal. She gave attorneys from both sides time to sort out their disputes before returning to court on May 27.
She said prison phone records could be subpoenaed to determine if the prisoner Denton mentioned was speaking to prosecutors about Denton's case.
Denton was charged in October 2007 with 12 counts of child pornography possession after his wife, Monique, tipped off police to the images on her husband's laptop computer, according to a complaint filed at district court in Quakertown.
The charges came as a result of a police search of the Denton home after Denton allegedly assaulted his wife during an Aug. 17 argument, according to court papers.
During the search, police found a half-dozen marijuana plants, a ''substantial'' amount of marijuana on a table in the basement next to a Bible, a pornographic magazine and what police later described as ''a whole bunch of sex toys.''
Court papers say the sex toys, drugs and pornography were ''easily accessible'' to the Dentons' two children, who were 9 and 3 at the time of the search.
After seizing Joseph Denton's computer Sept. 5, police found seven videos and five images of child pornography on its hard drive, according to the police complaint.
Denton has been in prison, unable to post 10 percent of his $100,000 bail since he was charged in the assault case in August 2007.
In that case, he also was charged with making terroristic threats, endangering the welfare of his children, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver drugs, police said.
patrick.lester@mcall.com 215-529-2612
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