{"id":31114,"date":"2022-04-25T22:40:46","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=31114"},"modified":"2022-04-25T22:40:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:40:46","slug":"women-upset-alleged-rapists-case-pending-6-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/25\/women-upset-alleged-rapists-case-pending-6-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Women upset alleged rapist’s case pending 6 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]<\/p>\n

\n

INDIANAPOLIS\u2014 A WRTV Investigation reveals alleged victims of crimes in Indiana waiting years for their cases to be resolved, including a Marion County rape case that\u2019s still pending six years later.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more\u2014WRTV Investigates uncovered no one appears to be tracking the length of criminal cases in our state.<\/p>\n

We could not find any state, city or local agency that is keeping track of how long alleged victims and defendants have to wait for justice.<\/p>\n

Delayed justice is an issue impacting public safety, plus we the taxpayers pay for the state\u2019s judicial system. The state, cities, counties, town and township spend approximately $511 million a year on the judicial system.<\/p>\n

A warning: the following content may be disturbing or triggering to some of our readers.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never going to see justice\u201d:\u00a0 Robyn Matthews story<\/b><\/p>\n

Robyn Matthews has been waiting for six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time a case date approaches, I stress out for the entire month before,\u201d said Robyn. \u201cI get panic attacks I don’t tell my fianc\u00e9 about.”<\/p>\n

Robyn reached out to WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney and said her alleged rapist\u2019s criminal case had been pending in Marion County for six years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

When WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney looked up the case, she found the case summary alone is 34 pages long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m frustrated, and I\u2019ve had six years to be frustrated,\u201d said Robyn. \u201cI just feel like nobody cares anymore.”<\/p>\n

Robyn in 32 years old now.<\/p>\n

In February 2016, she was 26 years old\u2014out in Broad Ripple, drinking with a friend when the two got separated.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege a man named Thomas Stone approached Robyn and told her he played for the Colts.<\/p>\n

Robyn got into his white Cadillac Escalade, thinking Stone was taking her to her friends\u2014 not knowing the Colts have no records of Stone ever playing for the team.<\/p>\n

Court documents allege Stone took Robyn to his house on Vistamere Way where he forced her to perform oral sex, and then raped her\u2014an allegation Stone denies.<\/p>\n

Stone drove to a gas station, which is when Robyn was able to get out and call police, court records allege.<\/p>\n

Robyn later got a sexual assault exam, and the DNA was a match for Stone, prosecutors said in court documents.<\/p>\n

On March 10, 2016, Marion County prosecutors charged Thomas Stone in connection with Robyn\u2019s incident with rape, kidnapping and criminal confinement.<\/p>\n

But the case is still pending six years later and Robyn is concerned the charges will be dismissed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never going to see justice,\u201d said Robyn. \u201cI feel like the case is falling apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtroom audio obtained by WRTV Investigates show Judge Grant Hawkins made the following comment to a prosecutor during an online hearing in July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is so old, we\u2019re using your old name, Miss Bibbs,\u201d remarked Judge Hawkins.<\/p>\n

Robyn says the comment enraged her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me so mad,\u201d said Robyn. \u201cI thought \u2018wow I’m glad this is funny to you because this sucks on my end.\u2019 I could only watch it happen.”<\/p>\n

Robyn, who now lives in a different county, is not alone in feeling this way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was going to die\u201d: Mikayla Devore\u2019s story<\/b><\/p>\n

Mikayla Devore is a second alleged victim in the same criminal case against Thomas Stone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Prosecutors say in January 2016, Stone approached Mikayla while she was sitting outside of a downtown bar and claimed to be an Uber driver and a Colts player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was about to get an Uber, and I was on the phone,\u201d said Mikayla.<\/p>\n

Stone then took Mikayla to his house on Vistamere Way, court records allege.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could feel him behind me and I turned around,\u201d said Mikayla. \u201cAt that point, I thought for sure I was going to die.”<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Stone forced Mikayla to perform oral sex\u2014an allegation Stone denies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was crying the whole time and that was making him upset or mad,\u201d said Mikayla.<\/p>\n

Mikayla says Thomas Stone agreed to drive her home.<\/p>\n

According to prosecutors, when Stone stopped his car along an interstate off-ramp, Mikayla got out and called the police.<\/p>\n

\u201c”I thought for sure he would kill me, and this was like my one opportunity to get away or it would be over,\u201d said Mikayla.<\/p>\n

Mikayla had a sexual assault exam and samples matched Stone, court records allege.<\/p>\n

In total, Thomas Stone is charged with 16 felony counts including intimidation, <\/b>rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, and criminal confinement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

The charges including allegations involving a third woman who we are not naming because she did not agree to speak with WRTV.<\/p>\n

At the time of the incident, Mikayla was 20 years old. She\u2019s now 27 and a mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, it’s not being taken seriously,\u201d said Mikayla. \u201cSix years. In that time, a lot of detail can be lost.”<\/p>\n

Mikayla was drinking the night of the alleged assault and is concerned that may impact her ability to remember details.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t remember the answer or can\u2019t recall, here we are with unanswered questions the jury can\u2019t get answers to,\u201d said Mikayla.<\/p>\n

Not Tracked: No state or local agency tracking length of criminal cases<\/b><\/p>\n

Six years sounds like a long time for justice.<\/p>\n

But WRTV Investigates wanted to find out for sure.<\/p>\n

We checked with the Indiana Office of Court Services, the Marion County Prosecutor\u2019s Office, the Marion County Clerk\u2019s Office, the Marion County Court Administrator, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, as well as statewide associations representing both prosecutors and public defenders.<\/p>\n

No one appears to be tracking how long criminal cases take in Indiana.<\/p>\n

The state does track a slew of other data including the number of cases filed, the outcomes of the cases, court expenses and revenues, as well as a breakdown of the data by county.<\/p>\n

READ |<\/b> Indiana Trial Court Statistics by County<\/a><\/p>\n

However, we could not find a single state or local agency in Indiana that examines how long criminal cases take to work their way through our judicial system.<\/p>\n

We asked clinical professor of law, Novella Nedeff, at the IU McKinney School of Law whether she\u2019s ever heard of a criminal case lasting six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a long time,\u201d said Nedeff. \u201cThat is shocking. I bet that is a real outlier in Marion County and probably most places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Nedeff said she was surprised no one appears to be tracking how long criminal cases take in our state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat does surprise me,\u201d said Nedeff. \u201cI know it\u2019s not readily available because I\u2019ve tried to look for those statistics.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the National Center for State Courts<\/a>, the average time from charges to disposition is 256 days for a felony case. Indiana did not participate in the analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe older a case gets, the better\u201d:\u00a0 A public defender weighs in<\/b><\/p>\n

Jefferson County Chief Public Defender Devon Sharpe is not involved in the Stone case, but WRTV Investigates asked him to provide some insight on why a case can drag on.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix years seems like an awfully old criminal case,\u201d said Sharpe. \u201cThat seems awfully excessive.”<\/p>\n

In the Thomas Stone case, WRTV Investigates counted at least 8 different continuances granted by the Marion County judge for various reasons.<\/p>\n

Sharpe said it is a common strategy for a defense attorney to request continuances.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a defense attorney, the older a case gets, the better, frankly,\u201d said Sharpe. \u201cTypically, over time you lose track of witnesses, people move, and people\u2019s memories become faded which makes it easier to challenge at a trial sometimes. Some of the evidence is hard to track down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharpe said prosecutors often feel more pressure to wrap things up the longer it goes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically as the case gets older, it gets easier and easier to resolve because the state begins to feel the pressure of getting the case resolved,\u201d said Sharpe.<\/p>\n

Delayed justice can be difficult on defendants as well, who are innocent until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had several clients who say \u2018look I’ve got to get something done here\u2014 either it’s a conviction or not,\u2019\u201d said Sharpe. \u201cThey\u2019ll say \u2018I just need to know. It will impact the jobs I’m applying for.\u2019 Getting those cases behind them can be important, but at what cost.”<\/p>\n

The reasons why justice can be delayed<\/b><\/p>\n

WRTV Investigates uncovered justice can be delayed for many reasons:<\/p>\n