A candidate for magistrate in Letcher County facing sex abuse and child pornography charges pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Letcher Circuit Court, and will soon seek a lower bond.

61-year-old Emory Lee “Fudge” Mullins appeared for an arraignment hearing on charges of first-degree sex abuse, eight counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of retaliating against a participant in the legal process. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

In addition to pleading not guilty, Mullins’ attorney, Daniel Dotson, informed the court he would be filing a motion for a reduction of the $100,000 cash bond his client is currently facing. That motion will come with a hearing in July where testimony in the case will be given for the first time since the charges were filed.

See the attached video for a comment from Letcher Commonwealth’s Attorney Edison Banks about the upcoming hearing.

That bond reduction hearing will be held July 11 at 2 p.m. in Letcher Circuit Court.

Emory “Fudge” Mullins remains lodged in the Letcher County Jail. His attorney declined to comment on today’s hearing.

Mullins won the Democratic primary for District 3 Letcher County magistrate last month, and is set to face Republican and write-in opposition in November’s General Election.

Mullins’ current legal troubles raise questions for his candidacy, but the Letcher County Democratic Party may be unable to remove Mullins as its candidate if it so desired.

A Mountain Eagle report states that the Secretary of State’s Office says the party cannot remove Mullins from the ballot since he is facing opposition in the general election, and since he has not yet been convicted of any crimes.

The Mountain Eagle’s report can be found here.

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