Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.
By
Caroline Sagristano [former]
, Marta Fernandez [former] - March 27, 2023
Court
|
Daily Stories
|
Sex Abuse
|
Sexual Assault
|
On March 24, DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun set a new trial date for a sex abuse case to accommodate a defense attorney’s recovery from surgery.
The defendant is charged with one count of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree child sex abuse while the victim was under the age of 18 and the actor had a significant relationship with the victim, two counts of kidnapping against a minor, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse while the victim was under the age of 18 and actor had a significant relationship with the victim, and three counts of second-degree child sex abuse while victim was under the age of 18.
Defense attorney Candace Mitchell requested to push the trial date back six months from January 2024 to allow her co-counsel time to recover from a surgery. Defense attorney Anthony Matthews is expected to undergo surgery at the beginning of April.
The prosecution agreed to set the new trial date but suggested another hearing to confirm that it is necessary to push the trial that far out.
Jury selection for the trial was rescheduled for late July 2024. The prosecutor said he expects the prosecution’s case to take about three days. The defense said they expect their case to take about one day.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 23.