Dickey pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges
Published 10:15 am Thursday, June 17, 2010
A 59-year-old Albert Lea man pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon on Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court.
Rex Dickey appeared with his public defender Stephen Erickson for a contested omnibus hearing Wednesday afternoon. Erickson entered not guilty pleas for all counts and requested a jury trial.
Erickson asked that three items found in a search of Dickey’s home on Vine Avenue not be admissable in court. The items related to a shotgun and shells, and the prosecution agreed that those pieces of evidence will not be used in a trial.
Dickey then asked to see a psychiatrist. He said he was examined by a physician in jail who recommended a psychiatrist, and he has not been able to see one. Assistant Freeborn County Attorney David Walker said he didn’t know what the court’s role would be and said someone would need to talk with Steve Westland, Freeborn County’s jail administrator.
County Attorney Craig Nelson will prosecute the two-day trial. A date has not been set.
Dickey is accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a woman while wielding a knife in March. He was arrested after the alleged victim called 911 and police responded. Court files say one of the two sexual conduct charges is for causing fear of great bodily harm and the other is for being armed with a dangerous weapon.
The incident was on March 13, 2010, when a woman called 911 and then told officers that she had finished a shower and was in her room wearing jeans and a towel when Dickey jumped out of a closet wearing only a T-shirt and wielding a knife, the court papers state. They state Dickey told her to cooperate or face death. The court files do not allege an attempt at intercourse, but they do allege pulling jeans half off and other inappropriate conduct.
Each count of second degree criminal sexual conduct carries a penalty of 25 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. The count of assault with a dangerous weapon carries a penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine.
