Man Facing Child Porn Charges Still Awaiting Trial Over A Year Later

The trial of William Neilson has barely gotten started, and it's been one year. Police are not criticizing the delays but they are concerned about what he has been doing while out on bond.

Thursday, May 30th 2013, 7:23 pm

By: News On 6


A Tulsa man was arrested a year ago for leaving a flash drive at a public library that officers say was filled with child pornography.

However, his case hasn't gone to trial yet. In fact, it hasn't even made it to the preliminary hearing stage. And the suspect, William Neilson, has been out on bond the entire time.

A lot of cases can be completed in the justice system within a year, but this one has barely gotten started, and it's been one year. Police are not criticizing the delays but they are concerned about what Neilson has been doing while out on bond.

Police say William Neilson left his flash drive at Tulsa's Brookside library, and when librarians looked at it to find the owner, they found child pornography.

The flash drive had Neilson's personal information on it, and police say surveillance video showed he was the one in the library using it. They got a search warrant and went to his home and say, when they arrived, Neilson was looking at child porn on his computer screen at that very moment.

6/5/2012 Related Story: Tulsa Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn In Library Re-Arrested

"There were several thousand images on his computer and on his flash drive, so it wasn't just random accidental copying of photos, it was obviously intentional," said Cpl. Greg Smith, of Tulsa Police's Child Crisis Unit.

Neilson was let out on bond, which isn't unusual, but, the case has stalled in the judicial system for the past year.

His attorney filed for a competency evaluation, saying he didn't seem to have a basic understanding of what was going on, that he expresses himself at the level of an 11-year-old and his coping is more at the level of an 8-year-old.

That set in motion an evaluation, testing, a wait for results, plus, as the records show, this case has been passed or continued at least half a dozen times for various reasons.

Police say they understand delays, but are frustrated by them. Their concern is his behavior.

"Is he continuing that now?" Smith said. "Is he still going to a library and looking at child porn where children or other people walk by and see this? If he hasn't, is there something to replace that behavior?"

The next court hearing is set next month, if it doesn't also get passed. Once the issue of competency is settled, then they'll move on to a preliminary hearing, which is where a judge will decide if there's enough evidence for Neilson to stand trial.

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