BishopAccountability.org
	Child Sex Abuse Hearing Waived By Kevin Jenkins The Spectrum March 13, 2010 http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20100313/NEWS01/3130326 UTAH, ST. GEORGE -- A lay pastor who ran a failed bid to unseat U.S. House of Representatives incumbent Jim Matheson in 2006 appeared in 5th District Court on Friday to waive an evidentiary hearing in his child sex abuse case. Kris Lounsbury, 62, of St. George is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and two counts of forcible sexual abuse. The hearing was scheduled to take half a day in which the prosecution was required to present sufficient evidence to justify continuing to push the case toward trial, generally in the form of testimony by the alleged victims and law enforcement investigators. Defense attorney Larry Meyers told Judge G. Rand Beacham his client had decided to waive the hearing and asked for an arraignment date to be set, in which the defendant would be formally informed of the charges and asked to enter a plea. Waiving the hearing means the case advances without requiring prosecutors to justify the allegations. Deputy County Attorney Brian Filter didn't oppose the request. Beacham asked Lounsbury if he understood the rights he was giving up by waiving the trial. "It wouldn't have to take a lot of evidence, but I would have heard at least some evidence in support of the charges. ... It would also give you the opportunity to hear witnesses," Beacham said. Meyers said he hopes the defense and prosecution are close to reaching a plea agreement. "I've been talking with Mr. Filter and hopefully we're close to a resolution," Meyers said. "This will just give us a couple of weeks to put a little heat on each other." Arraignment was scheduled for April 1.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.