A Kansas City judge has been appointed to reinvestigate the case of an alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by an older classmate in Maryville, Missouri, on Monday, the Associated Press reported. The case attracted national attention after the hacker group Anonymous publicized the case.
Prosecutor Robert L. Rice requested a new judge take a look at the case when the previous judge dropped the charges against 17-year-old football player, Matt Barnett, in January 2012, the AP reported.
According to Reuters, officials have chosen Jean Peters Baker to reinvestigate the case involving Daisy Coleman and another 13-year-old girl who was also sexually assaulted by two fellow schoolmates, Reuters reported.
It started in January when two boys, Barnett, then a senior at Maryville High School and the grandson of a once-prominent local politician, allegedly raped two girls who were intoxicated and did not give consent; another 17-year-old boy was arrested for filming the sexual encounter between Barnett and Coleman, The New York Times reported.
According to authorities, Coleman and a friend had been drinking before sneaking out of her house and going to Barnett's home, where he was hanging out with some friends. Coleman said in an interview that she drank a glass of clear liquid and couldn't remember anything after that, the Times reported.
Coleman then went into the room with Barnett and needed to be carried out, while the other 13-year-old girl went into a different room with the politician's grandson. He admitted to having sex with her even though she said no, the Times reported. His case was taken to the juvenile courts.
Afterwards, Barnett drove Coleman home and left her on her doorstep unconscious, where her mother Melinda Coleman found her at 5 a.m., according to the Times. Coleman called the police and took Daisy to a hospital where her alcohol level was 0.13 .
Daisy's assailant was charged with felony sexual assault, and the other 17-year-old that filmed the encounter was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, the AP reported. Prosecutor Rice said the charges were dropped last week because officials claimed the Coleman's had stopped cooperating and because "there wasn't enough evidence" to convict the boys.
Shortly after the incident, the Coleman's, who had been receiving harsh and aggressive opposition from non-believers, moved to their old home in Albany, about 30 minutes away from Maryville. Soon after they left, their house was burned with no leads as to who or why, the Times reported.
Daisy and Melinda Coleman said they have ever stopped cooperating and are able to provide any assistance needed if the case were to be reopened, the AP reported.
