Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Bob Rice said on Wednesday afternoon that he will ask the court to appoint a special prosecutor in the alleged sexual assault case that has made national and international news in Maryville.

Rice insists that the victims quit cooperating during a deposition after charges were filed and claimed their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves. He was also critical of the Kansas City Star article that brought to two-year-old case back to light.

“My name was dragged through the mud by that article and I don’t appreciate it, Rice said.

“It was pure crap.”  

Rice also said he does not regret his decision to dismiss charges in the case.

This announcement of a special prosecutor might have come sooner, but Rice was in court all day tying up the loose ends in a criminal trial.

Rice has been the target of widespread, world-wide media scrutiny since the newspaper story stirred up old passions about the sexual assault case.

There have been widespread accusations that political manipulation led to charges being dismissed in the case. But Rice insists the charges were dismissed because the victims quit cooperating.

“If the deposition were an open document I could show you,” Rice said, “but it’s not, and I can’t. If I could, I could point to the exact page, to the exact question, where the victim decided to quit cooperating.”