A Kenosha man will have more time to hire an attorney to represent him on charges related to his museum-like collection of child pornography.

Kevin M. Derks, 53, had too many assets, including a savings account and a vehicle, to qualify for a public defender paid for at taxpayer expense.

However, attorney Nancy Barasch said, a private attorney is expected to take the case soon.

Barasch was appointed temporarily to help Derks reach his family and make arrangements to hire counsel.

Those arrangements were nearly complete, Barasch said during a court hearing Tuesday, although she could not predict if any contract would be signed yet this week.

A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8 to update Derks’ progress.

Derks was charged in November with 20 felonies for possession of child pornography.

If convicted, he faces up to 500 years in prison.

He is in jail because he had not posted a $50,000 cash bond.

Derks is accused of collecting child pornography from paid Internet subscription sites, as well as amassing a collection of child erotica that included more than 100 DVDs, which Derks rated with his own star system.

State agents began looking into Derks’ activities in December 2008.

It took nearly a year to collect the background information and subpoenas that led agents to question Derks Nov. 17 and 18 at his apartment in the 4000 block of 39th Avenue.