Purdy trial postponed after plea negotiations stall

The trial of a Hoyt resident accused of sexual crimes involving a 3-year-old girl has been postponed until May after last-minute plea negotiations were stalled, according to Jackson County District Court documents.

Theodore J. Purdy III, 27, was scheduled to stand a three-day jury trial starting Tuesday morning, but after a motion filed by defense attorney Jason Belveal of Holton on Monday afternoon to continue the trial was granted, the start of the trial was delayed until Tuesday, May 15.

Purdy has been charged with rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child stemming from allegations of an incident or incidents that reportedly occurred between Sept. 1, 2016, and Oct. 14, 2016, with a child who was three years old at the time. He is currently free on $80,000 bond.

For more on this story, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account.