Dutchtown man acquitted of rape, incest

JACKSON, Mo. -- A Dutchtown, Mo., man accused of having sex with an underage female relative was acquitted of all charges Tuesday.

Ronald E. Shumate, 41, had been charged with three counts of statutory rape and three counts of incest. A then-15-year-old relative told police Shumate sexually assaulted her three times between June and September 2001.

A jury deliberated for 40 minutes before returning with the verdict.

"I don't think they believed her," Steve Wilson, Shumate's attorney, said afterward. "I think they thought it was a made-up story."

The girl, now 16, testified that the first assault occurred after Shumate bought alcohol at the Rhodes Truck Stop at Scott City, Mo., and got her drunk in his tractor-trailer rig. One of the defense witnesses, truck stop owner Gene Rhodes, testified that the truck stop does not sell liquor.

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle and assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff handled the case for Cape Girardeau County.

Shumate was a quarterback at Southeast during the 1984 season. He has a record of convictions, including driving while intoxicated, assaulting a police officer and possession of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession with intent to distribute Valium in 1990. He received a 10-year suspended sentence.

Shumate remains in jail on a charge of tampering with a witness. Earlier in the summer, he was charged with paying the alleged victim in the rape and incest cases to leave the area and not testify. He is in jail on $50,000 cash-only bond. His next appearance on that charge is Monday.