FAYETTE COUNTY — A Tuesday hearing for a 60-year old Vandalia man in Fayette County court has been continued until next week after the defendant was arrested on new charges of sexual assault of children.

Dennis J. Pickens had been free on $70,000 bond posted in June on a 2018 case charging him with four Class X felony counts of producing child pornography.

He was then arrested in July on three counts Class 1 felony violation of bail bond on a Class X offense for allegedly contacting the three victims of his original offenses. He was released from jail under the original $70,000 bond and under the same restrictions.

Pickens was then arrested in late November on a warrant charging him with Class X felony predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13 and Class 1 felony criminal sexual assault of a victim between the ages of 13 and 17 that was under his supervision.

Bail in the most recent case has been set at $300,000 and Pickens remains in custody. A new hearing date has been set for all three cases for December 17 at 10 a.m.