Dismissal of sexual assault charges ends case
A sexual assault in Gilmer County that is alleged to have taken place during a teenage drinking party in May 2014 will not appear on a courtroom case calendar any longer. A ruling on a defense motion to dismiss the charges against three Calhoun High School students based on lack of a speedy trial, a statutory right, will not be appealed.
Frank Wood, district attorney of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, primarily cited a lack of success in contacting the purported victim in the case for not appealing the ruling to dismiss handed down by Judge Tom Davis on May 11 — exactly 12 years since the night of the post-prom graduation party. Wood had 30 days to file an appeal that would have been heard by the Georgia Court of Appeals.
“The biggest thing before making that decision was that I had to speak to the victim given the age of this case, everything that’s transpired (and) the severity of it. I needed to speak to the victim,” he said last week. “I think it’s only fair for us to speak to the victim … and see what the victim’s wishes are — that’s a huge thing.”
Secondarily, Wood added, was the “likelihood of prevailing on appeal.”
“The first thing they (Court of Appeals) would look at would be the ruling of the court (by Davis) and everything that was presented during that hearing,” he said. “A lot of deference goes to the trial court’s decision … the third part being, hypothetically if we did appeal the case, and the Court of Appeals reversed the judge’s ruling, then we go back to the setting of trying this case.
“That goes back to issue number one (of the victim wanting to move forward with the case).”
Wood mentioned around two dozen attempts to contact the alleged victim or her mother beginning the day of the ruling into early June. No phone calls, voice mails or certified letters were answered, and after a forensic accounting group found an alternate address a certified letter was signed as being received by a family member but no effort was made to contact his office, he said.
“The victim never called us back (and) never responded to certified letters, so we do not have contact with the victim,” he reported. “We have endeavored every possible way to contact the victim, but have not been able to speak to the victim. I believe, given the age and severity of this case, I needed to hear from the victim exactly what she wanted me to do with this case, whether she wanted me to file this appeal. The second part of this was that we would have had a very difficult road ahead prevailing on an appeal, based upon the ruling of the court and the Court of Appeals giving strong deference to the trial court’s decision.”
Wood said there is “no way” to try the case without the victim taking the stand to testify.
“Based on this, we did not file the notice of appeal,” he said.