Jackson County prosecutor’s office named Maryville special prosecutor

The Jackson County Prosecutor said her office has been named special prosecutor on the controversial Maryville, Missouri rape case.

Jean Peters Baker said the Circuit Court in Nodaway County notified her of the appointment this morning.

“I immediately gathered a team of prosecutors, victims’ advocates and investigators to begin our own process to review this matter,” she said in a press release. “We are today obtaining files from authorities in Maryville. And we will begin our review of the evidence in this case as soon as all those documents are in house here.”

Peters Baker said she’s aware the case has raised “numerous and varied concerns” in northwest Missouri.

“But, as I directed my staff earlier today, we will go about our review of this case as we go about any case. It will be a thorough review without fear or favor. Until we delve into the particulars, we will have no idea how long it will take to complete that review. And we have no idea what the result will be,” she said.

Peters Baker will be involved in the case along with prosecutors and investigators from her office, but she said she will had no comment on the case as the review began.

The special prosecutor’s role is to conduct an independent review to determine if charges should be refiled after four witnesses said publicly they were willing to testify in the case.

The case has attracted national attention, especially since the computer hacking group Anonymous got involved. A former high school football player has been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at a party in 2012. The local prosecutor originally filed sexual abuse charges against two boys who were 17 at the time, but dropped them after saying the girl, her family and other witnesses were not cooperative.

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