A motion to dismiss the rape case against Purposeful Adventures founder Jared Leisek was filed in a Utah court this week, but his attorney’s evidence was sealed.
Leysek was charged with child molestation in Sanpete County, Utah in November, according to a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually assaulted a female relative between the ages of nine and 10 between January and October 1992.
Leisek’s attorney, Randall Richards, asked the court to drop the charges in a filing Monday, but his supporting evidence has not been made public, though the reason is unclear.
Richards declined to comment, and prosecutor Arek Butler did not return calls and emails from Fox New Digital.
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Divers at Prosser Creek Reservoir are searching for evidence of Kiely Rodney or his whereabouts.
(for Derek Shook)
The deadlock in the case may be due to Utah’s 2013 removal of the statute of limitations for serious sex crimes.
In a blog post on his website, Salt Lake City attorney Darwin Overson wrote that the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Stongner v. California set a precedent that “the statute of limitations cannot be extended to reopen a criminal prosecution.” already beyond the statute of limitations.”
“This means you can have your sex offense charges dismissed if you were convicted of a sex offense that occurred before the statute of limitations was eliminated in 2013,” Overson wrote on his site.
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“Additionally, the statute of limitations in Utah (unlike other states) does not depend on the victim being eighteen years old. If you are charged with an old sex crime, consult with a sex crime attorney. .”
Because the documents are sealed, it’s unclear whether Leisek’s defense team will use that argument.
Kiely Rodney’s car is being towed from Prosser Creek Reservoir after Target Adventures, where he and his car are located.
(Courtesy of Purposeful Adventures)
The case got off to a rocky start after Judge Leysek abruptly dismissed all cases at the first hearing, as true crime YouTubers live-streamed the case, which is against state law.
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In 2019, Leysek founded Adventures with a Purpose, a volunteer diving group to help with missing persons cases.
The group gained national notoriety in August after law enforcement found the remains of missing California teenager Keely Rodney’s car and body underwater.
Since AWP’s inception, the team has helped solve at least 23 missing persons cases, some involving children, according to the YouTube channel.
But just weeks after the criminal charges against Leisek were filed, AWP members announced their resignations in video statements, and many said they were not blindsided by the allegations.