Change of venue sought in sexual exploitation case

By Seth Boyes,

Kelly Jon Bachelder

The defense for a Decorah man accused of sexually exploiting two minors has asked that the pending trial be moved outside Winneshiek County.

Kelly Jon Bachelder was charged in May with two counts of possession of depictions of minors in a sex act – both aggravated misdemeanors. Trial information in the case lists two specific victims — both were identified in the trial information only by their initials, and both resided at the same address as the 47-year-old Bachelder at that time, according to court records. Criminal complaints filed in the case accuse Bachelder of using “multiple hidden wall outlet cameras” to record the victims between January of 2020 and June of 2022. 

A trial in the case was most recently scheduled for January of 2025. Bachelder’s defense attorney Mark Brown filed an Aug. 12 motion for a change of venue. Brown argued the individuals involved in the case are “entrenched in the local community,” “possess strong feelings” about the allegations and “shall know many prospective jurors” — Brown also cited news coverage from several regional outlets. 

“Via the noted media saturation and the small population of the county, tied to a smaller land mass, the negative knowledge or perceived knowledge of this case has indeed tainted the local jury pool,” Brown said in his motion.

A hearing on the request for a change of venue has yet to be scheduled. 

The case

Full article available in the August 22 Decorah Leader. 

Submit A Comment

Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments