BishopAccountability.org
	Roane County Priest Trial Won't Happen WCHS August 30 2010 http://www.58wchs.com/includes/news_items/7/news_items_more.php?id=3084§ion_id=7 All sexual assault and abuse charges against a Cincinnati priest have been dismissed by a Roane County circuit judge. Judge David Neibert ruled it was unfair to priest Robert Poandl that the prosecution could not produce some medical records of the alleged victim in the case. Poandl was scheduled to go on trial Monday in Spencer after he was indicted in January for the 1991 crimes against a young boy---who is now 28-years-old. Roane County Prosecutor Josh Downey disagrees with the judge's ruling. “The state actually asked to go ahead with trial. The state didn't think the records were relevant,” Downey said. “The state asked that the matter be continued. The judge didn't do that.” Downey tells MetroNews he believes the records could have been obtained with a little time. “Some records have been provided (by the victim),” Downey said. “It's not something that couldn't be received at some point.” Downey says it was the first time the prosecution had asked for a postponement of the trial. Judge Neibert also dismissed the charges with prejudice meaning they cannot be brought again in Roane County. The prosecutor does have a 90-day window to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the judge's ruling. “That's something we are actually looking at now and I'm not ready to answer that,” the prosecutor said. “The state was disappointed with the ruling of the judge and we respectfully disagree with that.” Neibert based his ruling on a 1994 West Virginia case that said a delay was prejudicial to the defendant. A Roane County Grand Jury indicted Poandl in January on charges of first degree sexual abuse, first degree sexual assault, and sexual abuse by a custodian. The charges came after the alleged victim came forward. Poandl allegedly sexually assaulted and abused a boy when Poandl was at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church Rectory in Spencer. Poandl has not been allowed to perform the duties of a priest since the charges surfaced.
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