| Judge to determine if delay hurt alleged molester's defense
By Andrew Clevenger
Staff Writer
www.wvgazette.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Clay County man who was charged with 129 counts of sexual misconduct will get a hearing to determine whether his case was harmed by a 13-year delay between authorities learning of the allegations and his indictment by a grand jury.
James L. Knotts, of Ivydale, was indicted in July 2008 on 129 counts - including first-degree sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse by a custodian and third-degree sexual assault -- for incidents alleged to have happened between March 16, 1991, and March 18, 1994.
In a 28-page opinion published Friday, the state Supreme Court ruled that if Knotts can show that actual harm to his case outweighs the reasonableness of the delay, the indictment should be dismissed.
"Dimming memories and the passage of time alone are insufficient to establish the level of prejudice necessary to show the denial of due process," wrote Justice Thomas McHugh.
"To demonstrate that preindictment delay violates the Due Process Clause ..., a defendant must introduce substantial evidence of actual prejudice which proves he was meaningfully impaired in his ability to defend against the state's charges to such an extent that the disposition of the criminal proceeding was or will be likely affected."
The justices ordered Clay Circuit Judge Richard Facemire to hold an evidentiary hearing. If Knotts can show that his defense suffered substantially from the delay, Facemire should then consider the state's reasons for the delay are justified, McHugh wrote.
In their petition to the court, Knotts' attorneys, Mike Clifford and Ed ReBrook, maintained that Clay County Sheriff Clarence Douglas and Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Davis knew about the allegations against Knotts in 1995, but chose not to pursue criminal charges.
In September 2006, a West Virginia state trooper asked the alleged victim's mother why she hadn't told law enforcement about what happened to her daughter, the petition states. The woman told the trooper that she had met personally with Douglas and Davis.
In 2008, former prosecutor Davis said the reason the case was not prosecuted was because the victim's parents told him they wanted to handle the situation inside the family and no longer wished to pursue prosecution, according to the petition.
"A delay of 13 to 17 years between the alleged crimes and the indictment places [Knotts] in an untenable disadvantage and completely destroys any remote possibility of alibi defenses and effectively disables potential witnesses on his behalf," the petition reads. "Who can possibly recall where one was or what one was doing on a particular day that long ago?"
In her response to the petition, Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, who had been appointed special prosecutor to handle the case, said the alleged victim's parents didn't want their then 13-year-old daughter to have to testify against Knotts.
A state trooper investigating new allegations against Knotts contacted the alleged victim, who is now an adult, she wrote. A grand jury indicted Knotts based on the new information provided by the alleged victim, according to McLaughlin.
"The delay was not deliberately designed to gain a tactical advantage over [Knotts]," she wrote. "Clearly, the prosecutor chose not to act, but not as a tactical design but rather to honor the request of the victim's parents."
Reach Andrew Clevenger at aclevenger@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.
www.wvgazette.com
| 
