Case refiled after jury trial in child sex case canceled on morning of trial

A pool of Ozark County residents were summoned to the Gainesville First Christian Church Monday to report for jury duty but were told soon after they arrived that the trial had been canceled and their jury service was no longer needed that day.

The trial that would have been presented to the court was that of Gainesville resident Jerry Studdard, who had been charged with two counts of statutory sodomy in connection with  allegations that he had sexually abused multiple children over a 10-year span, dating as far back as 2007. At least one victim was described in earlier court documents as younger than 12 at the time of the abuse. 

The prosecutor’s choice 

Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant explained that he made the decision to dismiss the case, which in turn canceled the trial, due to the court’s final rulings on motions that would have excluded essential evidence from the state’s case. 

“Several motions were filed late last week and over the weekend,” Garrabrant told the Times in an email. “Based on the Court’s rulings, some of the State’s evidence would have been excluded. I elected to dismiss the case and re-file.”

By choosing to dismiss the former case and refile another similar case, the state has the opportunity to gather stronger evidence that can be used at trial in the future. If the state had proceeded with the trial and the jury had reached a not guilty verdict due to the incomplete or weak evidence, Studdard would be found not guilty and could not be retried for the alleged crimes. 

“I want to make clear that while this decision caused hardship and inconvenience for a number of hard-working people, I take full responsibility for it, and I, in no way, mean this as a criticism of the Court’s ruling,” Garrabrant said. 

Potential life imprisonment

Garrabrant’s office filed the new case Monday. In the newly filed case, Studdard is again charged with two counts of statutory sodomy, but this time the potential punishment, if convicted, is increased.

“As you can see from the new Complaint, Count II has been raised from a C felony to an unclassified felony,” Garrabrant said.

According to the Missouri Revised Statutes, “statutory sodomy” is defined as the act of an adult engaging in deviate sexual intercourse with a person 14 or younger. 

The statutes indicate that a defendant convicted of first-degree statutory sodomy of a child 12 years or younger must be sentenced to prison for 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment.