Sarcoxie School Board Member’s Trial Reset

SARCOXIE, Mo. (AP) — The trial of a former member of the Sarcoxie school board on child pornography charges will not be held until October.

Sixty-seven-year-old John Lewis was scheduled to go on trial Monday in federal court in Springfield on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography on personal computers.

Federal Judge David Rush granted a defense motion for a continuance last week and set a new trial date of Oct. 21.

The Joplin Globe reports the judge also granted a defense motion to allow a psychologist to conduct a psychiatric exam on Lewis.

Prosecutors allege highway patrol troopers investigating reports that Lewis exposed himself to some high school students on his farm outside Sarcoxie found child pornography on electronic devices seized from Lewis' home.

Lewis remains in federal custody.