A decision is pending on whether an Emporia man will get a new trial — or whether court proceedings will continue — after a conviction on teen sex abuse charges.
Derek Gormly has been challenging his sentence after he was convicted in late 2017 on charges of aggravated indecent liberties and lewd and lascivious conduct against a then-13-year-old girl in late 2016.
Gormly has claimed his sentence violates both the US and Kansas constitutions, accusing local law enforcement of purposefully omitting evidence and district court of wrongly allowing evidence from a separate case to be used to prove character, mental illness and elements of the crimes charged. He has also said he received ineffective legal counsel and the sentence was both unconstitutionally long and not representative of the facts.
Initially, the case was supposed to go to trial Friday, but prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss, saying the defense case did not meet the statutory criteria needed to proceed, which was heard Friday instead. Judge Jeff Larson has taken the request under advisement. A date for a ruling is currently pending.
