FAYETTE COUNTY — The Fayette County court bench trial against a 44-year-old Missouri man charged with grooming of a minor and possession of child pornography has again been delayed.

Shelby D. Weston is already a registered sex offender in Missouri and is now charged in Fayette County, Illinois with four Class 2 felony counts of possessing child pornography, and two counts Class 3 felony possessing child pornography, as well as with Class 3 felony traveling to meet a minor and Class 4 felony grooming.

It was the traveling to meet a minor and the grooming charges that reportedly led to the discovery of the child pornography after Weston was arrested in Vandalia.

Weston had initially demanded a jury trial in the case and at least four separate trial dates scheduled since his arrest in 2017 were vacated before he then elected to be tried by a judge in a bench trial, rather than by a jury.

Since waiving his right in November to a trial by jury and asking instead for a bench trial, Weston has sought another four continuances, with the most recent request made and granted Tuesday. The case is now scheduled for an August 29 all-day bench trial.

Weston has remained in the Fayette County Jail since his March 2017 arrest, with bail set at $250,000.

The Missouri Sex Offender Registry shows Weston was convicted in 2004 in Missouri on multiple charges including enticing and attempting to entice a child, as well as attempted statutory sodomy of a child.