| In May 2015, a 17-year-old woman told police in St. Charles County, Missouri that 16-year-old Charles Jones III and 17-year-old Benjamin Faust raped her.
A medical examination indicated she had engaged in sexual intercourse and Faust’s DNA was found on her clothing.
Faust and Jones told police they had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual.
Faust and Jones were arrested in April 2016. On November 7, 2016, they pled guilty in St. Charles County Circuit Court to second-degree rape. They were each sentenced to a year in the St. Charles County Department of Corrections.
Jones was released on August 29, 2017. Faust was released on September 9, 2017.
In May 2018, the detective who had investigated the case was assigned to handle a new rape allegation made by the same woman. During the investigation, the detective came to believe that her credibility was unreliable—both in the new case and in the case involving Jones and Faust. The woman was reported to have mental health problems.
On July 30, St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar issued a statement saying, “The detective re-interviewed the victim regarding the (original two) cases, and he came away with convincing evidence that the victim was untruthful in her original story to the extent that our convictions lacked integrity.”
The prosecution filed a motion to vacate the convictions of Faust and Jones. The motion was granted and the charges were dismissed.
– Maurice Possley
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