Judge Orders Competency Exam for Kidnapping and Sex Abuse Defendant

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

A DC Superior Court judge ordered a full exam to asses if a kidnapping and child sex abuse defendant is competent to stand trial.

The 22-year-old defendant was charged with first-degree child sex abuse on April 20, 2018. He was kept at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric institution, from August 2018 until May 2020, when he was released to a group home.

He was later charged with armed kidnapping for allegedly assaulting a victim, handcuffing him, taking him to a basement and stealing from him on Oct. 7, 2020. He is now being held at DC Jail.

A doctor said she thinks he can become competent to stand trial through receiving education, rather than psychiatric care.

During the Jan. 14 hearing, Judge Michael Ryan decided to order a full competency evaluation and provide him with educational services in the meantime.

Defense attorney Heather Pinckney asked Judge Ryan to send her client to St. Elizabeth’s.

However, he said he does not think he has a basis to do so at this time, saying there has been a backup at the hospital because of COVID-19 quarantine protocols.

The defendant’s next hearing is scheduled for March 4.