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By
Carrie McDonald [former]
- August 4, 2022
Burglary
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Sex Abuse
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Sexual Assault
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Suspects
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DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo accepted the defense’s motion to reschedule a sex abuse trial for Nov. 10.
The defendant is charged with first-degree burglary, fourth-degree sex abuse and two counts of second-degree theft in connection to an incident that occurred on July 9, 2021. According to court documents, the victim told police that she awoke to the defendant “sucking on [her] nipples” at her residence on the 1000 block of 46th Street, NE. The victim said she believes the defendant entered her home through the window and took cash and her car keys from her purse.
At the Aug. 3 hearing, defense attorney Sara Kopecki told Judge Demeo that she needed more time to talk to her client and review video evidence with him. Kopecki indicated that she had been in discussion with the prosecutors about her timeline in advance of the hearing.
The prosecution did not object to the motion to reschedule the trial. Court records indicate that jury selection was originally scheduled for Aug. 3.
Judge Demeo scheduled jury selection for Nov. 10 and the beginning of arguments for Nov. 15.
She also set a Sept. 6 deadline for all parties to file responses to outstanding motions and for the defense to file notice of an expert witness.
The prosecution indicated that it expected its case to last two days. Kopecki said she needed one day to argue her case.
Judge Demeo accepted the defendant’s waiver of his rights to independently test DNA evidence. Law enforcement tested DNA taken from the victim’s breasts. The DNA profile matched the defendant’s profile on file from the FBI Federal DNA Database.
The defendant’s next appearance in court is scheduled for a trial readiness hearing on Oct. 7.