Three years after his arrest for allegedly possessing and distributing explicit images of minors, the case against a Frankfort man will be going to federal court.
Marcus Tate
Marcus Tate, 37, was arrested by Kentucky State Police in December 2017 following an undercover investigation.
Friday in Franklin County Circuit Court, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Zach Becker said Tate’s attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the case because of an expected federal indictment.
Becker told Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate he had spoken with federal prosecutors, who said they expected to indict Tate in the next couple of months.
Rather than dismiss the case now, Becker said he would request a trial date several months in the future. If Tate is indicted federally, the state trial date could be canceled and the case dismissed at that point.
Tate faces 12 counts of distribution of matter portraying the sexual performance by a minor and one count of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor. Both are Class D felonies.
Police said the investigation was started by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force after Tate allegedly uploaded the files online. State police served a search warrant at a residence and confiscated equipment used in the alleged offenses.
Post a comment as
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
State-Journal.com’s comments forum is for civil, constructive dialogue about news topics in our community, state, nation and world. We emphasize “civil” at a time when Americans, in the words of the current president, need to “turn down the temperature” of political debates. The State Journal will do its part by more carefully policing this forum. Here are some rules that all commenters must agree to follow:
Absolutely no attacks on other commenters, on guest columnists or on authors of letters to the editor. Our print and online opinion pages are sacred marketplaces of ideas where diverse viewpoints are welcome without fear of retribution. You may constructively critique the ideas and opinions of others, but name-calling, stereotyping and similar attacks are strictly prohibited.
Leeway will be given for criticism of elected officials and other public figures, but civility is essential. If you focus your criticism on ideas, opinions and viewpoints, you will be less likely to run afoul of our commenting rules.
Keep comments focused on the article or commentary in question. Don’t use an article about the Frankfort City Commission, for example, to rant about national politics.
Hyperpartisanship that suggests anyone on the other side of an issue or anyone in a particular particular party is evil is not welcome. If you believe that all Democrats are socialists intent on destroying America or that all Republicans are racists, there are lots of places on the internet for you to espouse those views. State-Journal.com is not one.
No sophomoric banter. This isn’t a third-grade classroom but rather a place for serious consumers of news to offer their reactions and opinions on news stories and published commentary.
No consumer complaints about individual businesses. If you’ve had a bad experience with a private business or organization, contact the Better Business Bureau or the government agency that regulates that business. If you believe the actions of a private business are newsworthy, contact us at news@state-journal.com and we will consider whether news coverage is merited.
Absolutely no jokes or comments about a person’s physical appearance.
No promotion of commercial goods or services. Our outstanding staff of marketing consultants stands ready to help businesses with effective advertising solutions.
If you state facts that have not been previously reported by The State Journal, be sure to include the source of your information.
No attacks on State Journal staff members or contributing writers. We welcome questions about, and criticism of, our news stories and commentary but not of the writers who work tirelessly to keep their community informed. Corrections of inaccurate information in news stories should be sent to news@state-journal.com rather than posted in the comments section.