Circuit court drops rape case
Elizabeth Koch
Issue date: 2/18/10 Section: News
The Adair County Circuit Court dropped the sexual assault charges for Randall Tetzner, 50, of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, this week because of technicalities with the statute of limitations.
Tetzner was charged with two felony counts of sodomy and two counts of rape from incidents in 1986 and 1987. The case hadn't been seen since Feb. 26, 1987, when the charges were filed.
The victim came forward July 1, 2009, to Kirksville police and said Tetzner sexually assaulted her. Adair County Prosecutor Mark Williams said he didn't realize the statute of limitations had run dry 12 years ago.
Missouri's statute of limitations in 1987 was three years. It was extended to 10 years in 1990. It was changed again in 1997, when it was extended to 10 years after the victim's 18th birthday if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the incident. Because the change did not go into effect until June 1997, three months after the statute of limitations for the Tetzner case had expired, the case was overdue for the state.
With the 1997 legislation for statute of limitations, the charges could have been readdressed in 2011, but the case wasn't addressed before the change, so the law made it untouchable.
"Charges would have to [have] been refiled before Feb. 26, 1997, in order to save the case, and that did not occur," Williams said.
The current statute of limitations is 20 years after the 18th birthday of the victim.
Williams said he could explain what happened to the victim, but nothing further can be done, and there are no consequences for Tetzner.
Kirksville Police Chief Jim Hughes said he is not aware of anything that the victim could do at this time from a legal standpoint.
"Most people not involved in the legal system believe that the laws are static, and they're not," Hughes said. "What the law is today is not necessarily what the law was yesterday or what it will be tomorrow."
Hughes said the investigation portion of the case was straightforward for the police and did not affect the statute of limitations aspect of the case.
Tetzner was charged with two felony counts of sodomy and two counts of rape from incidents in 1986 and 1987. The case hadn't been seen since Feb. 26, 1987, when the charges were filed.
The victim came forward July 1, 2009, to Kirksville police and said Tetzner sexually assaulted her. Adair County Prosecutor Mark Williams said he didn't realize the statute of limitations had run dry 12 years ago.
Missouri's statute of limitations in 1987 was three years. It was extended to 10 years in 1990. It was changed again in 1997, when it was extended to 10 years after the victim's 18th birthday if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the incident. Because the change did not go into effect until June 1997, three months after the statute of limitations for the Tetzner case had expired, the case was overdue for the state.
With the 1997 legislation for statute of limitations, the charges could have been readdressed in 2011, but the case wasn't addressed before the change, so the law made it untouchable.
"Charges would have to [have] been refiled before Feb. 26, 1997, in order to save the case, and that did not occur," Williams said.
The current statute of limitations is 20 years after the 18th birthday of the victim.
Williams said he could explain what happened to the victim, but nothing further can be done, and there are no consequences for Tetzner.
Kirksville Police Chief Jim Hughes said he is not aware of anything that the victim could do at this time from a legal standpoint.
"Most people not involved in the legal system believe that the laws are static, and they're not," Hughes said. "What the law is today is not necessarily what the law was yesterday or what it will be tomorrow."
Hughes said the investigation portion of the case was straightforward for the police and did not affect the statute of limitations aspect of the case.
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