PERU — A Miami County judge on Thursday delayed Kegan Kline's sentencing hearing on charges of child exploitation and child pornography.
Miami Circuit Court Judge Timothy P. Spahr granted the delay after Kline's defense attorney Andrew A. Achey said his client needed time to review new evidence they received in last 24 hours.
A new sentencing hearing was scheduled for June 27.
Miami county Deputy Deputy Prosecutor Courtney B. Alwine strongly objected to the continuance, calling it a delay tactic.
"Kegan Kline wants this to drag out as long as possible," Alwine said. "There's no reason we can't move forward today"
Investigators previously linked Kline to a bogus social media account tied to the killings of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi. Kline was never charged in the deaths of the girls.
Kline wore an orange jail suit as he sat at the defense table in the Miami County Courthouse for Thursday's hearing.
He face more than two dozen charges including child exploitation, possession of child pornography, obstruction of justice and others stemming from an investigation into the bogus social media profile "anthony_shots."
According to court records, investigators found explicit images of children during a search of Kline's home in 2017.
Kline, according to records, used the "anthony_shots" profile to interact with underage girls.
Police have linked the “anthony_shots” account to the investigation into the deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams in Delphi. Kline, however, has not been arrested or charged in connection with the Delphi homicides.
In October, Carroll County prosecutors charged Richard M. Allen with murder in the 2017 deaths of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14. The girls' bodies were found on Valentine's Day 2017 off a trail near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.
Allen lived less than a mile from the school Libby and Abby attended when they were killed.
Investigators say marks on a single unspent bulletfound near the girls' bodies tie Richard Allen to the killings, according to a probable cause affidavit.
More: Bullet links Richard Allen to the killings of Abby and Libby in Delphi, court docs show | Delphi Murders: Richard M. Allen charged with murder in 2017 killing of Libby German and Abby Williams | Detectives looking for information related to social media account in connection to Abby and Libby investigation | Miami County man pleads guilty to 25 charges of child exploitation, pornography
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.
