JACKSON MAN'S TRIAL SCHEDULED FOR JULY 25

JACKSON, Mo. -- A 23-year-old man accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing two Scott City, Mo., girls, ages 4 and 7, will appear in court for a preliminary hearing next month, the Cape Girardeau County prosecutor said Wednesday.

Samuel Farrow Jr. of Jackson is scheduled to appear before Associate Judge Michael Bullerdieck on July 25 for a hearing that will determine whether he should face arraignment on 16 criminal charges, prosecutor Morley Swingle said.

The charges are connected with abductions of the two girls from the same trailer in a trailer court on separate occasions in July and November.

The girls, who are unrelated, lived in the trailer with their families. Investigators have said they were kidnapped through the same bedroom window.

The preliminary hearing was arranged during a telephone conference involving the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney Al Lowes on Tuesday, Swingle said. The conference came at the completion of a second mental examination of Farrow that was requested by Lowes. An earlier exam asked for by Swingle was completed last winter by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

A Kansas City, Mo., psychologist evaluated Farrow at Lowes' request.

The purpose of the examinations is to determine whether Farrow can assist in his own defense in court and if he was mentally fit at the time of the crimes, the attorney said.

Neither Swingle nor Lowes would discuss the results of the two mental examinations.

Thirteen of the charges, which include rape and sodomy, carry maximum punishments of life in prison.