Judge delays hearing in rape case

By Michael Glover

The Fort Scott Tribune

FORT SCOTT -- A crime laboratory backlog may be the reason for a delay in the progress of a criminal court case.

Sixth Judicial District Magistrate Judge Rebecca Stephan, Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson and defense attorney Bob Farmer met Monday for about eight minutes behind closed doors to discuss the case against a Richards, Mo., man accused of raping a Bourbon County 16-year-old.

They emerged about a minute later and entered the courtroom, then Stephan granted a continuance of the preliminary hearing. It was rescheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17.

Stephan's ruling marks the third continuance in the state's case against Edward E. Thomas, 42, who currently resides at the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center in lieu of $100,000 cash bond.

He was charged in November with three counts of alleged rape and one count of alleged aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Court documents reveal allegations that rapes occurred several times over a number of months last year.

The judge granted the continuance based on the same reason given for the previous continuances -- DNA evidence is not back from the crime lab.

Farmer, Thomas's attorney, told the judge that getting the DNA sample back is a key element in providing his client with a fair decision as to whether to send the case to jury trial. He said DNA evidence has been known to be an "exculpatory tool" in criminal cases.

The DNA testing, which is being performed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, is about 70-percent completed, Johnson told the court based on discussions with the laboratory staff within the last week. Caseload might be to blame for the long wait for the DNA, both Johnson and Farmer said.

Farmer said two of the three steps in the testing process have been completed, and the final step will be performed to try and determine whether a match is evident between the victim and Thomas. On April 28, the court ordered Thomas to submit a DNA sample based on the state's claim that it has evidence requiring further DNA analysis for comparison purposes, according to court records. The court already has deemed the evidence important, based on earlier decisions to continue the case, Farmer added.

Johnson opposed the continuance based on the viewpoint of the victim and her family, who have been waiting nearly a year after reporting the allegations of rape to the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office.

"From the standpoint of the victim, I object to the continuance," Johnson said. "The state has the victim and witnesses that are urgently wanting to go forward."

Johnson reminded Stephan that the court was reluctant to continue the case at the last scheduled preliminary hearing.

The hearing involves probable cause, Johnson said, either with or without the DNA evidence, and the purpose of a preliminary hearing is not to determine guilt.

Following the brief hearing, Stephan declined to fully comment on why she granted the continuance, only saying her decision rested on arguments presented by the attorneys at the hearing.