Washington mayor’s trial delayed once more

WASHINGTON — A judge has rescheduled Washington Mayor Jaron Rosien’s jury trial for Oct. 24, according to the latest court documents in a case where he’s charged with sexual abuse in the third degree.

That marks the second delay in Rosien’s proceedings. The mayor was originally scheduled for trial on July 18, before a pretrial conference on June 23 led to the announcement of new dates as discovery continued.

The new schedule, announced on Wednesday, sets a pretrial conference for Oct. Oct. 6 at 9:15 a.m. at the Washington County Courthouse, as well as a jury trial on Oct. 24 at 9 a.m., according to court documents.

The move follows a request from Rosien’s attorney, Eric Tindal, who outlined the reasoning in court document filed Aug. 7.

Tindal said he “was previously scheduled to be out of the country and is unavailable,” referring to the previous Aug. 11 pretrial conference and Sept. 12 trial dates. He later added that his office “has not yet received all video discovery in this matter.”

Security camera footage from the bar is cited in a report on the case from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Tindal’s motion said the state, which is prosecuting the case, did not object to the request when contacted. District Court Judge Joel Yates signed an order approving the change Aug. 8.

Rosien has pleaded not guilty to the allegation, which is a Class C felony. His accuser, identified as “AB” in a partially redacted affidavit released by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, claims that Rosien made unwanted sexual contact with him at a bar owned by the mayor in January. The mayor began a voluntary, unpaid leave of absence from his municipal position in early February after the charges were announced, but has not resigned.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com