FAYETTE COUNTY — The defense in a 2018 Fayette County case charging a 63-year-old man with multiple counts of child sex offenses and child pornography is now looking for a substitute judge in the case.

Dennis Pickens was 59 years old when he was arrested in 2018 and charged with four Class X felony counts of producing child pornography.

After a few months, he posted $70,000 cash bail and was released from the Fayette County Jail. A few months later he was arrested and charged with three Class X felony counts of violating the conditions of his bond for contacting his three alleged victims and also with criminal sexual assault of a victim between the ages of 13 and 17 who were under his supervision. He remains free at this time on the original $70,000 bail.

According to the prosecution, Pickens produced four videos, three depicting a victim under the age of 18 and one video containing two victims under the age of 18. His case has plodded through the court system for more than four years and during a Wednesday pre-trial hearing, the defense filed a motion to substitute the judge in the three cases. At least five different judges have sat on this case over the last four years. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for January 25 in front of a civil judge.