Lawyers representing a Souderton man accused of killing a young girl have asked a Montgomery County judge to dismiss the charges against him. They say the charges against 25-year-old James Troutman must be dismissed because his attorney-client privilege was violated when county detectives went into his prison cell and seized written materials meant only for his lawyers.  As an alternative to dismissing the charges, they want the death penalty removed from the table or the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office barred from prosecuting Troutman.

He is charged with first and second degree murder, kidnapping and rape of a child in the death of nine-year-old Skyler Kauffman.  She was abducted in May of last year after playing with friends in a parking lot outside the Souderton Gardens Apartments where she lived with her mother and grandmother.  Troutman lived in the same complex.