Rape retrial warranted for North Little Rock man convicted in 2016, court rules

A North Little Rock man serving a 40-year prison term for rape deserves a new trial because an accuser's theft conviction was barred from being used to discredit her, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

Edward Rogers, 36, was convicted in 2016 of raping three of the teenage daughters of an acquaintance over several years. A jury found Rogers innocent of the rape of a fourth daughter.

In court records, the girls described Rogers as being like a father-figure to them, who lured them into having sex when their mother was not around. The mother reported the rape allegations to police in November 2014.

During the trial, Rogers' attorneys sought to present evidence during the eldest daughter's testimony that she was convicted in 2014 of theft of property. However, Circuit Judge Herbert Wright barred the defense from doing so.

Rogers' attorneys appealed, arguing that the Arkansas Supreme Court had ruled theft of property an act of "dishonesty" that can be used to question a witness' credibility.

A split panel of appeals judges ruled that while there was enough evidence to support a conviction of rape of the younger two girls, all three convictions should be thrown out because of what the jury was not allowed to hear.

"Because of the similarity of the sexual acts among these then teen-aged siblings ... we cannot say that [the eldest daughter's] testimony had no bearing on whether the jury believed [the younger daughters]," Appeals Judge Bart Virden wrote in the majority opinion.

Three other judges sided with Virden's majority opinion to reverse the lower court decision and send the case back to Pulaski County Circuit Court. Two judges dissented.

If remanded for a new trial, it is possible that Rogers can be released from prison at the East Arkansas Regional Unit on bond, his attorney Sharon Kiel said Wednesday. Kiel declined to say whether Rogers had money to post bond, though court records show he was declared indigent during his appeal.

A spokesman for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office said the office is reviewing the ruling to decide whether to ask for reconsideration of Wednesday's ruling or appeal the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

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Metro on 10/20/2017

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