DORCHESTER, Neb. (AP) - A man found guilty of first-degree sexual assault of a child in 2014 has been granted a new trial by the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
The Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/1OZpt28 ) reports that the appeals court said 36-year-old Raymundo Perez-Cruz’s trial court judge abused his discretion by denying Perez-Cruz a jury trial because he waived it while trying to work out a plea agreement.
When he learned there would be no plea deal, Perez-Cruz sought to reinstate his right to a jury trial. But the state argued it was too late, and Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen ultimately agreed.
Once a defendant knowledgeably and voluntarily waives the right to a trial by jury, there is no absolute right to withdraw the waiver and demand a jury trial, Judge Everett Inbody wrote in an opinion issued Tuesday. But in this case, the court found, Jacobsen had abused his discretion because there was no evidence his waiver had impeded the state’s ability to adequately prepare for trial.
“There is no evidence in the record to indicate that reinstating Perez-Cruz’s right to a jury trial was made to gain a tactical advantage, was made on the date set for trial or was made for any other reason other than Perez-Cruz’s belief that a plea agreement would be reached,” he said.
The court sent the case back to Lancaster County District Court for a new trial.
Prosecutors argued that Perez-Cruz grabbed a 13-year-old girl and put her in the backseat of his car before driving her to a lake near Crete, where prosecutors say the girl said he forced himself on her.
Perez-Cruz had been sentenced to 25 to 40 years in prison last year. The conviction and sentence have been reversed and the case will go back to Lancaster County District Court.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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