A Saline County man who has spent nearly two years in pretrial detention after being federally indicted on two counts of possession of child pornography was allowed to go home under stringent release conditions after an agreement was struck between the man's attorney and the U.S. attorney's office in Little Rock.
David Rigsbee, 64, of Benton, was charged after an investigation that began in October 2020 when an investigator connected to a Bit Torrent file sharing network came across a number of videos depicting child sexual abuse that were traced back to Rigsbee. On Dec. 30, 2020, the FBI executed a search on Rigsbee's home, according to a probable cause affidavit attached to a federal complaint, seizing a home computer, a number of external hard drives, several cellphones and a large number of digital storage flash drives including USB thumb drives, SD cards, and other media. A search of the home computer, the affidavit said, turned up a number of files containing child sexual abuse material.
Rigsbee, who has been housed at the Shelby County jail in Memphis since completion of a mental evaluation, was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair guided by federal marshals who were assigned to transport him to court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant told U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe that she had no objection to Rigsbee's release provided he undergo individual specialized mental health treatment, that there be no internet in the home, and that any contact with minor children be forbidden.
Christian Chance Alexander, Rigsbee's defense attorney, voiced no objection to those conditions but noted that due to a number of physical issues with Rigsbee's legs, an alternative to an ankle sensor be found for location monitoring.
"He has a number of leg issues going on where if he has to take it off for X-rays or other medical things, we need probation to work with him on that," Alexander said.
"Is there anything looming on medical?" Volpe asked.
"He's got a lot of medical issues," Alexander responded.
Volpe noted that, according to the report he was given, drug use did not seem to be an issue with Rigsbee.
"So, no drug testing?" he asked Bryant.
"That's fine as long as probation agrees," Bryant responded.
"Who would I be to stand in the way of probation?" Volpe quipped as he modified the release conditions. "What I will say is don't use any illegal narcotics if I'm going to get rid of the drug testing."
The judge advised Rigsbee that if he should violate his release conditions, he could be revoked and sent back to jail for the duration of his case.
"That could be a long time," Volpe said, adding that he could face additional charges for release violations or he could face enhanced sentencing for violations should he be convicted of the original charge.
As Volpe outlined the conditions of his release, Rigsbee nodded vigorously from the defense table, at one point leaning in to talk to Alexander as Volpe ordered him to have no contact with children.
"Sometimes," Rigsbee could be heard saying, "with the children across the street...."
"No more," Alexander cut in. "Tell them no more."
"Is that any concern?" Volpe asked, noticing the conversation.
"No sir," Alexander answered quickly.
Volpe also ordered Rigsbee to report any contact with police, no matter how minor, saying failure to do so could result in his being placed back into custody.
"If the police come knocking on your door looking for a lost cat," the judge said, "you have to report that."
Regarding computer and internet use, both sides seemed to be at odds how to deal with that because Rigsbee's wife owns a laptop with internet access that Alexander said she uses to watch church services and to monitor news from her native Japan.
"I think our only option is to have it monitored by the probation office," Bryant said.
As Volpe talked with probation officers regarding how to deal with Rigsbee's wife's computer, Alexander spoke up to say that she had agreed to have the monitoring software installed on her laptop.
"I can't emphasize enough," Volpe said to Rigsbee, "you can't be on the internet and if you do that's a fast trip back to jail."
"I don't like the internet," Rigsbee said.
"That's a fair assessment," Volpe said. "So, just stay off of it, OK?"