Women seek to merge cases against officers

The women who were victimized by a former Dexter police officer filed a motion in federal court Tuesday in Cape Girardeau asking it to allow them to consolidate their cases and add additional parties.

Dexter lawyer Stephen Holden said he filed the motion to consolidate the cases "for judicial economy."

On Oct. 19, Holden filed suit against Robert E. Kennedy, police chief Ken Rinehart and police Lt. Sammy W. Stone on behalf of Susan K. McCarty and Crystal R. Vaughn.

According to earlier reports, McCarty and Vaughn's suit alleged "deprivation of their constitutional rights" by the officers.

Kennedy pleaded guilty in September to two counts of statutory rape and one count of deviant sexual intercourse involving McCarty, Vaughn and another then 16-year-old girl. He was placed on five years' supervised probation.

Since that time, Rinehart and Stone were indicted by a Stoddard County grand jury for felony hindering prosecution.

Rinehart and Stone are accused of hindering the prosecution of Kennedy for his sexual assaults on the women.

The plaintiffs' motion asks the court to allow them to add an additional plaintiff and two additional defendants and to consolidate all of the cases into one case.

According to the motion filed with the court, McCarty and Vaughn are asking the court to add a second juvenile victim as a plaintiff and the mayor, John Pruitt, and the city of Dexter as defendants.

Tippen was Kennedy's second juvenile victim.