BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A judge ordered that a former New York police detective accused of sexually assaulting a girl at his vacation home in Vermont be ready for a retrial in July in a long-delayed case.
Leonard Forte, 78, was charged with felony sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Vermont in 1987. He was convicted in 1988 but a judge ordered a new trial the next year saying the prosecutor had been too emotional.
The case was held up after Forte, who now lives in LaBelle, Florida, said a terminal illness prevented him from traveling. He’s been appearing athearings by phone for many years.
A judge released an order Wednesday specifying deadlines for the case, including to be ready for a trial by July 1. The date is tentative and will be discussed at Forte’s hearing on April 1. Forte has until March 13 to file a request not to appear for trial, the Bennington Banner reported Friday.
Prosecutors have said they don’t believe Forte is being honest about his health because of reports that he and his wife own multiple boats and have taken several extended trips, including to New York.
The accuser in the case, now in her mid-40s, was permitted by the court in January to call in and listen to the hearings.
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