The preliminary hearing in the sex crimes case of James and Rebecca Jackson was held on Friday, April 2 in Wewoka.

District Attorney Paul Smith said in a press release that scheduling conflicts necessitated the bearing be held in Seminole County by agreement.

The couple, who once served on the Wetumka City Council, was arrested separately last year on charges related to sex crimes.

James Jackson, the onetime mayor of Wetumka, was already facing sexcrime charges in Illinois when he was charged last March in Hughes County with lewd acts against minors, possession of child pornography, bestiality and other criminal counts.

Jackson was arrested March 26, 2020 in a joint effort between the FBI, Hughes County Sheriff Marcia Maxwell, her deputies and Wetumka police. At the time, Jackson had been charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor in Whiteside County, Illinois, where he and his wife, Rebecca, lived previously.

Rebecca Jackson, who was once on the Wetumka City Council, was arrested last April on four charges, including possession of child pornography, conspiracy to commit a felony, engaging in a pattern of criminal activity in two or more counties and use of a computer to violate Oklahoma statute.

Smith said several witnesses testified at the hearing, including agents of the FBI, the DADVCTF, and one of the principal alleged victims.

At the close of the evidence, arguments of both Defense Counsel and the D.A. were heard by the court and the court took the ruling under advisement to look over the many exhibits offered and admitted by the State and review the lengthy testimony presented by the State lasting most of the day.

The court will announce its ruling on April 16 at 8:30 a.m. at the District Court Courtroom in Holdenville, according to Smith.