He was due to stand trial next week over an alleged rape seven years ago; he says he needs more time to prepare | News, sports, jobs

Photo of: Kim Callahan/Journal Worl

Reston K. Phillips (left) appears in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, during a hearing in his rape case. His lawyer Joe Heurter is right.

Just days before trial was set to begin in a 7-year-old rape case, the defendant has asked a Douglas County judge for more time to prepare his defense.

On Wednesday, Judge Amy Hanley granted – apparently with considerable reluctance – the request of defense attorney Joe Huerter, who represents Reston K. Phillips, a man accused of raping a young woman while she was lying on a couch in a man’s home met Lawrence on May 14, 2017. Phillips was 22 years old at the time. He’s 30 now.

Hanley, who recently rejected a prosecutor’s request for a short continuance in the case, questioned Huerter about the attempt to delay it at the last minute, citing the seriousness of the charges: “This is a rape case” that has already been going on for a long time Time, she said, later adding: “It should have been done sooner.”

Huerter claimed that while preparing for the trial, he became aware that “certain expert testimony” would be required. When pressed by Hanley, Huerter indicated that the expert he was seeking was a doctor, but he said he had not received a response from potential experts he had contacted.

Photo of: Kim Callahan/Journal World

Reston K. Phillips appears in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, during a hearing in his rape case.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Seiden, who represented the prosecution, objected to the delay, noting that witnesses had planned to travel from Alabama and Montana next week. Seiden told Hanley that the state had not yet incurred any expenses.

Hanley expressed concern that the defendant’s right to counsel may be ineffective in the future should she refuse to continue the proceedings, which she ultimately granted. At the same time, she acknowledged that it worried her that she had to rearrange so many schedules just days before a scheduled hearing.

The woman who alleged rape went to the hospital and filed a police report just hours after the incident. According to an affidavit in the case, she had been visiting a friend in Lawrence and was sleeping on an acquaintance’s couch after an evening out. She told police that she woke up and Phillips, who was also visiting friends in town, was abusing her. The woman said she did not know Phillips before that weekend and that after the incident she told him, “You raped me,” and he said, “I’m sorry,” according to the affidavit. The affidavit quotes other men in the home telling police that Phillips was distraught after the incident, saying, “I don’t know what happened, I just woke up (and) we were both naked. “I’m leaving into jail. I want to kill myself.”

The alleged rape occurred seven years ago, in 2017. A warrant was issued for Phillips’ arrest in March 2018. It is not clear where Phillips, of Topeka, has been in the many years following the incident, but his social media accounts indicate he spent time in Germany and the Netherlands. He was finally arrested in Harris County, Texas, last September. He has been free on $30,000 bail since shortly after his arrest.

The case is now scheduled for a status conference on June 12, where a new trial date could be set. However, Huerter indicated at Wednesday’s hearing that Phillips, who has waived his right to a speedy trial, would be willing to participate in mediation that could resolve the case closer to trial.