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By
Amaya Smith [former]
- August 11, 2021
Court
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Daily Stories
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Sex Abuse
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Suspects
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Victims
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A DC Superior Court judge released a sex abuse defendant into the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).
The 31-year-old defendant is charged with first-degree child sex abuse. He is accused of abusing a young girl on multiple occasions in what the prosecution alleges to be “an escalating pattern of abuse.” According to court documents, the defendant allegedly confessed to the abuse via text messages to a member of the victim’s family, D.C. Witness previously reported. He was arrested and held at DC Jail in June.
During a hearing last week, Judge Neal Kravitz denied defense attorney Rachel McCoy’s request to release her client but continued the hearing to Aug. 11 to give the defense time to look into appropriate possible release conditions. When parties reconvened on Aug. 11, McCoy said the defendant can stay in a residence with a friend and his family, where he will not be around children.
Despite this, the prosecution maintained their argument that the defendant shouldn’t be released due to the nature of the charge. However, they argued that if he is released, he should be required to stay at home when he is not working. But Judge Kravitz said he should have a couple of hours a few times a week to run errands and have free time.
As conditions of his pretrial release, Judge Kravitz ordered the defendant to stay away from schools, recreation centers and playgrounds. He must also stay away from the victim and her family. He is also required to wear a GPS monitoring device.
The defendant’s next court hearing is scheduled for Sept 16.