Prince George’s County police officials say the state’s failure to send an officer a court summons is the reason for his missing a court date that led to robbery and assault charges being dropped against a man now suspected of raping a 10-year-old girl.
On Jan. 29, Jose Israel Acosta-Ortega, 29, of Takoma Park, was set to face the testimony of the officer and two witnesses in his trial on charges of attacking and attempting to rob a man in October. But the officer and the witnesses never showed, and prosecutors was forced to drop the charges, a spokesman for Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey said.
Acosta-Ortega is once again behind bars, accused of raping a 10-year-old member of his extended family in a Silver Spring home earlier this month, Montgomery County police said.
“The summons was never received by the officer, and those sent to the civilians were returned without [having been served],” said Sharon Taylor, spokeswoman for the County Police Department.
On Jan. 28 and Jan. 30, the officer signed summonses for different cases, indicating that he was aware of upcoming court dates for other cases and was taking appropriate action, Taylor said.
There could be many reasons, including wrong or changed addresses, why the two witnesses, both bouncers at a bar near where the October Hyattsville robbery took place, weren’t reached, she said.
The state is charged with issuing summonses to witnesses and police officers, and police officials have told The Examiner there are times when they’re sent late or never arrive at all.
Although Taylor declined to comment on how often that happens, she noted that officers are expected to make their court dates.
They also have incentive. For each court appearance, officers get three hours of overtime, regardless of how long they’re actually in court, according to police budget documents. And while overtime has been canceled since January, it has remained in place for court appearances and “emergency situations.”
Darrell Pressley, the spokesman for the state court system, could not immediately comment on this case.
