Motions to dismiss the indictments against former First United Methodist Church Pastor Paige Williams and former daycare director Abby Leach were denied during a hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Motions dealing with how jurors will be called, how many alternates will be seated along with the standard 12, how many strikes will be allowed for each defendant were all discussed, due to the defense’s concern about the amount of media coverage this case has received. They believe it could taint the jury pool with bias against Williams and Leach. There were numerous other motions and issues brought up, all of which were addressed or will be addressed come the trial.
One motion filed by defense attorney Bill Deatherage, who represents Williams, was to have the indictment dismissed against her due to what he calls faulty grand jury testimony. He told Special Judge Brian Wiggins that the grand jury was provided with “bad information”, which resulted in indictment. There was then a superseding indictment, along with several amendments, and Deatherage says it has resulted in confusion, leading to his second motion to dismiss the indictment.
Special prosecutor Blake Chambers explained the indictment situation, saying the indictment is clear in the allegations, as were the grand jury testimonies.
Ultimately, the judge denied both motions to dismiss, saying this case will go to trial and they can make their arguments at that time.
Williams and Leach are both charged with eight counts of complicity to criminal child abuse. The indictments allege they “breached their legal duty to protect the minor children by failing to prevent intentional permitting abuse” of those children. In each count, the victim is described as being under the age of 13 months old.