An announcement was planned sometime Wednesday regarding the dismissed sexual-assault case that has made national news this week.  Officials in three public offices in Maryville would only say an announcement is expected.

The city has been in the news all over since Sunday. That’s when the Kansas City Star published a report updating a sexual assault dating back to January of 2012.

There has been a lot of finger pointing since the story came out, accusing local officials of favoritism, accusing the locals of harassing the victims, and nearly accusing someone of arson.

One of the victims, named Daisy, has attempted suicide twice since her ordeal.

The particulars include a pair of teenage girls who admit drinking heavily but don’t remember much else. Daisy was found in the frosty cold of her front yard by her mother.

On Jan. 8, 2012, authorities say a teenager had sex with the 14-year-old, and another boy, a juvenile, did the same with her daughter’s 13-year-old friend. A third student video-recorded one of the incidents.

Two months later, the Nodaway County prosecutor dropped the felony cases against the youths, one of whom is the grandson of a longtime political figure in Maryville.

Law enforcement officials deny that favoritism had any part in that decision. In fact they accuse Daisy and her mother of not cooperating with the investigation, at one point invoking their 5th Amendment right not to incriminate themselves. Since then, Daisy has said she would testify if the case were reopened.

Many are calling on Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Bob Rice to do just that: convene a grand jury to weigh the evidence.

It’s not clear at this writing if that is what officials plan today.

Mayor Jim Fall says the incident has generated a lot of hate mail.

“I have not been holding open court on the courthouse walk to hear how people think,” Fall said, “I am a little weary of E-mails and phone calls that take a slant that’s much worse than what the people of Maryville are being accused of.”

The family of the victim claims they were harassed because of the incident. The mother lost her job, and the family moved out of town. While their house was still on the market, it burned down under mysterious circumstances.