MIAMI COUNTY, Ind. — One day after the attorney for Kegan Kline filed a motion to no longer represent him, two new attorneys were announced as representing him.
One will be William Berkshire from a firm in Peru, Indiana. The other is Eric Huneryager from the Miami County Public Defender Office.
The shift comes after Kline signaled he may want to withdraw his guilty plea.
Kline's former attorney filed his motion to withdraw appearance Friday, May 19, one day after Miami County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Spahr granted a continuance in Kline's sentencing for his child pornography case.
In requesting the continuance, Kline's defense team claimed he needed time to review evidence Kline said he hasn't seen. The defense then said Kline may want to withdraw his guilty plea based on that evidence.
The prosecution described the claims as a stall tactic and said that Kline was already aware of the evidence.
"We want to emphasize that the Miami County Prosecutor's Office vehemently objected to the continuance of the sentencing hearing. However, we respect the decision made by the Court and acknowledge its authority in matters of legal proceedings," said the Miami County Prosecutors Office in a statement to 13News.
Kline's new defense team has until May 31 to file a motion to withdrawal his guilty plea. A status hearing will then be held on June 1.
Kline pleaded guilty March 30 to the 25 charges, ranging from child exploitation and possession of child pornography to obstruction of justice. It's been more than three years since charges were first filed against him.
In his change of plea, Kline previously told the judge he thinks he is bipolar and schizophrenic, but he was able to make the clear decision to plead guilty. The judge walked Kline through each charge to make sure he understood what he was pleading guilty to.
After pleading guilty, Kline gave sworn testimony about the offenses he committed. Kline admitted receiving photos of girls under 18 showing their bare breasts, along with other graphic photos. Kline admitted having pornographic images of girls under 12 years old.
Kline admitted using the catfish social media profiles "anthony_shots" and "Emily Ann" to contact his victims. He also admitted that he obstructed justice by deleting social media apps from his devices.
On May 9, Miami County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Spahr denied WTHR's request to have cameras in the courtroom for Kline's sentencing hearing.
An amendment to the Code of Judicial Conduct went into effect May 1, which lets local judges decide if news media can bring their cameras into court.
"Given the nature of the offenses involved, there is the possibility that references will be made during said hearing to sexually explicit materials and/or sexually explicit conduct. Thus, the Court considers this to be a less-than-ideal set of circumstances for the breaking of new ground in Miami County in the realm of the recording and broadcasting of court proceedings by members of the news media," Spahr wrote in his ruling to deny cameras in the courtroom in this Kline's sentencing hearing.