Jury to consider 'multiple acts' rule in upcoming Juarez trial
No pre-trial motions have been filed for the upcoming trial of a Holton resident accused of attempted first-degree murder, rape and six other charges, although the rape charge will have to be handled differently, Jackson County District Judge Norbert Marek noted on Friday.
The trial of Manuel Juarez-Benito, 27, is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 31 in district court with two interpreters on hand, Marek noted. Neither Juarez-Benito, a native of Guatemala, nor the alleged victim in the case speaks English, causing those involved in the case to note the presence of a “language barrier” in the matter.
During a pre-trial motion hearing on Friday, Marek also reminded attorneys that jury instructions will be different for the rape charge than the other seven charges filed against Juarez-Benito. Those seven charges stemmed from an alleged Feb. 8 incident in Holton, while the rape charge stemmed from incidents reportedly occurring between April 1 and Sept. 30 of 2015.
As a result, the judge noted, since the rape charge involves “a spectrum of dates,” a “multiple acts” instruction — in which several instances of the same offense are alleged at different times and any one of them could constitute the crime charged — is required for the jury.
“There’s not other way to do it when all of the other counts happened on a specific date,” Marek said.
Juarez-Benito was charged with attempted murder in the first degree, aggravated battery, two counts of criminal threat, aggravated endangering a child, obstructing official duty and domestic battery in connection with the Feb. 8 incident, all charges but the latter being felonies. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in late June following testimony given by the victim at a May 12 preliminary hearing.
At the preliminary hearing, the woman identified as the victim testified that in the February incident, he punched, kicked and choked her after an argument about a sick child. Sheriff’s officers later came to the scene of the incident and found marks on her neck that were reportedly consistent with strangulation, and Juarez-Benito reportedly admitted to hitting the woman.
The woman also testified that Juarez-Benito had raped her several times between April 1 and Sept. 30 of 2015, noting that these incidents occurred after she rejected his requests for sex, some of which were made while she was pregnant.
Juarez-Benito, who remains at the Jackson County Detention Center on $200,000 bond, is being represented by Holton attorney J. Richard Lake. Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller is prosecuting the case for the state of Kansas.
