Map of Nodaway County, Mo. (Image credit: livgenmi.com)
MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor who dropped charges in a sex assault case involving a 14-year-old girl says he's asking a court to appoint a special prosecutor to look at the case. Nodaway County prosecutor Robert Rice announced the development Wednesday. The girl's mother, Melinda Coleman, says her daughter was plied with alcohol and raped by a 17-year-old acquaintance. Coleman says the family was forced to move from Maryville because of harassment they faced in the small town. She says that after the alleged attack last January, her daughter was dumped on her family's front porch in freezing cold temperatures. Two months after the incident, Rice dropped charges against the 17-year-old boy. Rice and the county sheriff have insisted the case collapsed when the Colemans became uncooperative with investigators. Melinda Coleman denies that.