Thursday, October 25, 2018

Trial of former North Middle School reading teacher on sex charges may be delayed

The trial of former North Middle School reading teacher Amanda Schweitzer, scheduled to begin in December is likely to be delayed until March.

The attorney for Schweitzer, who is charged with sexually exploiting a minor and transmitting obscene material to another minor, filed a motion in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri today asking for a delay.

The U. S. Attorney's office had no objection, according to the motion.

This is the second time Schweitzer has asked for a delay. The trial was originally scheduled to be held in September.


Federal public defender Ian Lewis explained the need for the delay:

Additional time is needed to conduct critical evaluations of the discovery, relevant guidelines, potential motions to suppress, and to otherwise make a global evaluation of the case and options to resolve this matter.
Schweitzer was indicted in January, charged with sexually exploiting a minor and transmitting obscene material to another minor.

According to the indictment, Schweitzer "used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor, John Doe (DOB 2003) to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction" which was then sent to a child born in 2002.

The charges appear to be in connection with an investigation initiated by the Joplin Police Department after it received reports Schweitzer had sent nude photos of herself to three boys, age 14, 14 and 13. It was during that investigation that they came across the evidence indicating Schweitzer had sex with the 13-year-old.

Schweitzer also faces a Jasper County charge of felony statutory rape for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old student at her home March 29, 2017. The next hearing in that case is scheduled for October 1.

She is also charged with three felony charges, kidnapping, statutory rape, and statutory sodomy in Newton County for allegedly taking the same 13-year-old boy to the Water's Edge Camp Ground and having sex with him.

Two lawsuits have been filed in Jasper County Circuit Court in connection with the case

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