St. Louis judge dismisses jail rape charge

ST. LOUIS -- A judge has dismissed a case against a man accused of raping a woman in a locked cell in the Jefferson County jail after the woman didn't appear at a hearing.

In October, authorities charged the male prisoner -- James Ross, 41, of Hillsboro -- with sexually assaulting a 22-year-old female inmate from Bourbon, Mo.. Ross was placed in the woman's cell after he was escorted by guards from his own cell to make a phone call.

Officials said a jailer didn't see the woman -- who was in a bunk, under blankets -- when he placed Ross in an otherwise empty holding cell.

After an investigation of jail practices, the Jefferson County sheriff's office disciplined six staff members for violating procedures that might have prevented a man and a woman from being in the same cell.

Jefferson County assistant prosecutor Jane Geiler said that the woman could file charges again if she comes forward. That might be unlikely because the victim is wanted by police after she failed to appear in court on charges that she wrote bad checks.

Ross' attorney, William K. Meehan, said that his client would have won the case even if the woman had appeared.