Two men face Scott County accusations of choking, statutory rape

One was released on his own recognizance; another is still in jail.

BENTON, Mo. -- A man accused of choking his 7-year-old daughter and threatening to kill the child's grandmother put off a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Scott County Associate Circuit Court.

And a 19-year-old Dupo, Ill., man was served with a felony indictment for statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl on April 17 at a home in Chaffee, Mo.

Donald L. Williams, 35, of 1710 Fornfelt, Scott City, was charged with felony child abuse in June for an attack reported in March by Ronnie Fluegge of Cape Girardeau, husband of the girl's mother.

The girl told police that Williams grabbed her by the arm and choked her while saying he was going to choke the grandmother until she died, according to a incident report filed by Scott City police officer Casey Dodd.

The girl "then stated he was yelling at her, telling her to pick between her mother and him," Dodd wrote.

Williams was released on his own recognizance.

He pleaded guilty in 1999 to possessing material used to make methamphetamine and was sentenced to four years in prison. In September 2002, July 2003 and August 2004, he pleaded guilty to domestic assault. In February 2004, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment.

He is slated to be in court Tuesday for another appearance.

Turned himself in

Dennis R. Schlemmer was indicted by the grand jury in Scott County on Sept. 7 for statutory rape. He was served with the warrant Wednesday and is in jail on a $150,000 bond.

Chaffee police chief Jeffrey Womack said the sex between Schlemmer, 19, and the 13-year-old girl was consensual. It occurred when the girl was visiting her father for a weekend.

"She was just visiting that weekend," Womack said. "It was a housewarming party for the woman buying a new house."

Schlemmer turned himself over to authorities in Dupo, Ill.

The case was taken to the grand jury rather than a preliminary hearing as a way of protecting the victim from further trauma, said Dana Weis, assistant Scott County prosecutor.

When a person is charged with a felony, a prosecutor can either air the charges in open court in a preliminary hearing or use a grand jury. In a preliminary hearing, witnesses testify under the same rules as a trial and the defense can cross-examine witneseses. Grand jury proceedings are held behind closed doors and the rules of evidence are looser, Weis said.

For example, children who make allegations of sexual abuse are interviewed by the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence, Weis said.

A videotape of that interview is sufficient for a grand jury indictment, she said. In a preliminary hearing, the child would actually have to testify, some times from a witness stand just a few feet from the person alleged to have abused them.

"A grand jury for me is an amazing opportunity," Weis said. "What it allows me to do is further protect the children in these crimes."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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