Plea hearing is postponed in child pornography case

HARRISONBURG — A Staunton man’s plea hearing in federal court on two counts of possession of child pornography was continued Wednesday, and a judge denied the defense attorney’s motion to suppress evidence.

Staunton authorities charged Clifton Thomas Talley, 59, on July 7 with 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography, charges later dropped when the case went federal.

He was arrested after an incident July 5 at the Staunton Public Library.

Since the case moved to U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, attorneys have tussled over the legality of Talley’s arrest and the subsequent searches.

Federal public defender Andrea Harris argued that police lacked probable cause to arrest Talley. She said Wednesday that her motion to suppress evidence would be denied. That denial has not been written.

Talley is being held at Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange.