Alleged child molester Weldon Marc Gilbert of Washington state, accused of raping young boys, will watch hundreds of child pornography videos this week while he sits in jail ?- the same police footage found in his home -- because he's acting as his own defense attorney.
A judge approved Gilbert's request based on a previous Washington Supreme Court ruling that allows a defense attorney to review evidence against a client.
But officials said this is the first time a defendant has been granted that kind of access.
Today Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist told ABCNews.com he's gearing up for a fight.
"In my 16 years as a prosecutor, this is one of the most absurd and maddening results I've ever heard of, and this is the first time I'm aware of this happening in Pierce County," said Lindquist. "We don't have to turn over the guns used as evidence for a defendant ? and it's absurd that we have to turn over the child porn as evidence."
Gilbert, who appears in several of the videos, was charged with child rape, child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor in 2007 after the older brothers of two alleged victims called police.
A former United Parcel Service pilot who goes by his middle name, Marc, had allegedly lured the boys to his Lake Tapps home after providing coveted trips in his sea-plane, boat or helicopter.
Witnesses said Gilbert, 50, would give the boys alcohol and spank their bare buttocks. In several cases, prosecutors said, Gilbert allegedly engaged the teens in masturbation, oral sex and anal sex.
the full article.....