Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Three men accused of raping a 9-year-old girl near Vernal more than two years ago were found not guilty on all charges Wednesday.
Larson RonDeau, 38, Randall Flatlip, 28, and Jerry Flatlip, 31, were visibly relieved as the verdicts were read, some hugging their attorneys and another leaning over and thanking his lawyer.
The acquittals end a drawn-out process that started in 2016 in Uintah County and saw the case moved twice - including a well-publicized switch to Summit County that ended in a mistrial due to a lack of people reporting for jury duty - before ending up in Salt Lake County. All three men have remained in custody since their arrests.
"They spent more than two years out of their lives with their liberty removed from them, and they didn't do it. The jury was pretty clear," defense attorney Loni DeLand said after the verdicts were read.
On Easter Sunday 2016 in a rural area outside of Vernal, a young girl, now 11, claimed she was gang-raped by at least three men while her mother did drugs in another room.
But as defense attorneys for each client pointed out to jurors, there was no DNA evidence. The entire case came down to a she-said/they-said situation.
"Not a shred of physical evidence. No DNA or anything," DeLand noted.
"I've never thought from the beginning that they've had a likelihood of winning," defense attorney Brian Sidwell added after the verdict. "There was no DNA. They found DNA but it didn't match any of our clients. When we started getting doctor reports back (that said), 'Hey, this is just not medically probable, that if everything she is saying is true (then) there would be some type of evidence or physical injury to her."
Based on the evidence, Sidwell said the case should have never been filed, or charges should have been dropped before it got to trial.
Uintah County Attorney Mark Thomas said he respected the jury's decision.
"As prosecutors, we would like to have a case where we have an overwhelming amount of evidence. Sometimes we do just have to rely on what people tell us," he said. "In this case, we have a young girl who I consider gave compelling testimony, a compelling statement. If the jury did not find it compelling, that's, again, something the jury has to weigh."
As for a possible motive for making the rape allegations, defense attorneys weren't sure. Sidwell speculated the girl's mother, who admitted she was on a "meth high" during the alleged events and facing her own jail time, coaxed her daughter into making up the story. Another theory was the woman was angry at her former boyfriend, Jerry Flatlip, according to the defense.
After closing arguments were delivered by DeLand on Tuesday, Sidwell said his client, Jerry Flatlip, thanked him.
"He said this is the first time in two years that I feel like somebody has stood up and told my side of the story to someone," Sidwell said.
The jury, which began deliberating Tuesday afternoon before going home for the night, reconvened at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. They announced they had reached a verdict less than 15 minutes later.
The three men will now have to be transported back to Vernal before they are officially released from custody.
Randall Flatlip, however, may remain in custody for another case. Following his arrest as part of the rape investigation, child pornography was allegedly discovered and he was charged with 74 counts of exploitation of a child, all second-degree felonies. He is scheduled to be back in court on that case on Tuesday.
Jerry Flatlip and RonDeau also face a charge of child abuse, a third-degree felony, and are scheduled to be back in court May 22. Sidwell, however, said it was all part of the same episode as the case they were just acquitted on, and attorneys will be moving for the charges to be dismissed based on double jeopardy.
