Robert Warren Triplett Jr. will face his first of two trials for possession of child pornography next Tuesday when he appears in Lowndes County Circuit Court.
Triplett faces both state and federal charges of exploitation of a child. Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office Detective Tony Cooper said possession of child pornography is one of the few laws which can be tried in both courts.
A conviction on state charges could carry up to a 40-year prison sentence and a federal conviction could tack on an additional 10 years.
Pornographic images of children were discovered on computers belonging to Triplett following the September 2009 disappearance of his stepdaughter, Kaila Morris, then 21. Triplett has not been identified as a suspect in Morris” disappearance, but was investigated by the LCSO.
Triplett was the last person to see Morris alive and was already on probation for a 2003 charge of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County. The charge was reduced to aggravated assault.
He was arrested by the LCSO in October 2009 and has been in custody since. His probation in Jackson County was revoked in April; he will serve a 10-year sentence for he assault charge.
Triplett is being held in a north Mississippi county jail, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections website. His trial on federal charges is scheduled for Aug. 30 in U.S. District Court in Oxford.
A ruling is pending on a motion by Triplett”s defense to suppress evidence in the federal case. Triplett is represented by Robert Laher of Tupelo. James Joyner of the U.S. Attorney”s Office in Oxford is prosecuting the federal case.
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