Cook Co. Attorney's Sex Assault Case Goes to Trial
By:
DULUTH - Despite a motion to drop the sexual assault charges against him, Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell is being ordered to face a jury trial.
St. Louis County Judge Shaun Floerke made the court order official Friday.
A jury will now decide whether Scannell should be convicted of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct charges involving a teenage girl.
The girl was 17 at the time of the alleged crime and Scannell was 46-years-old.
In recent testimony to a grand jury, the girl said he touched her breasts under her shirt and he also suggested they have sex.
The testimony also goes into detail on Scannell’s relationship with the girl.
He was seen as a long-time family friend, soccer coach, tennis coach, guitar teacher and mentor.
According to the testimony, at the time of the alleged incidents, Scannell was helping the girl decide where to go to college.
The trigger to the investigation was a harassment restraining order granted by the Cook County Court on December 2012.
Last month, Scannell's attorney made a motion to dismiss the charges for a lack of probable cause.
Friday, Judge Floerke denied that motion with the release of the following memo: "An indictment represents the grand jury's decision that there is probably cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it."
Scannell is still on medical leave.
No court date or pre-trial hearing has been set.
Before this case, Scannell made headlines after he was shot in the Cook County Courthouse while he was prosecuting a sexual assault case.