Adventures with Purpose divers locate Kiely Rodni in Prosser Reservoir in Truckee, California
On scene footage shows Adventures with Purpose divers and local police locating Kiely Rodni's car underwater in California's Prosser Reservoir.
A motion to dismiss the rape case against Adventures with Purpose founder Jared Leisek was filed in Utah court this week, but his lawyer’s arguments were sealed.
Leisek was charged in November with two counts of rape of a child in Sanpete County, Utah court for allegedly sexually abusing a female relative in January and October 1992 when she was between nine and 10 years old, according to the criminal complaint.
Leisek’s lawyer, Randall Richards, implored the court in Monday’s filing to drop the charges, but his supporting arguments weren’t available to the public, although it’s not clear why.
Richards declined to comment, and prosecutor Arek Butler didn’t return Fox New Digital’s call and email.
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Divers at Prosser Creek Reservoir search for Kiely Rodni or evidence of her whereabouts. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
The sticking point in the case may be related to Utah’s 2013 removal of its statute of limitations for serious sex crimes.
Salt Lake City lawyer Darwin Overson wrote in a blog post on his website that the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Stongner v. California set a precedent that "a statute of limitations cannot be extended to re-open the possibility of prosecution for a crime that was already outside the statute of limitations."
"This means that if you were charged with a sex crime that was committed before the statute of limitations was removed in 2013, you might be able to get the sex crime charges dropped," Overson wrote on his site.
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"Additionally, the statute of limitations in Utah (unlike some other states) is not dependent on when the victim turns eighteen. If you are charged with an old sex crime, you should consult a sex crime attorney that can help you fight the statute of limitations."
Because the documents are sealed, it’s unclear if this is the argument Leisek’s defense team will use.
Kiely Rodni's car being pulled from Prosser Creek Reservoir after Adventures with Purpose located her and her vehicle. (Courtesy of Adventures with Purpose)
The case itself got off to a rocky start when the judge abruptly canceled all the cases on the docket during Leisek’s first court appearance because true crime YouTubers streamed the case live, which is against state law.
BODY OF MISSING SKIER FOUND AMID HEAVY SNOW, ROUGH WEATHER IN UT
Leisek founded the volunteer dive team Adventures with Purpose in 2019 to aid in missing persons cases.
The group gained national acclaim in August when it found the remains of missing California teen Kiely Rodni’s car and body underwater after law enforcement searches missed it.
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Since AWP’s inception, the team has helped solve at least 23 missing person cases, some involving children, according to its YouTube channel.
But within weeks of the criminal charges against Leisek, AWP members announced their resignations in video statements, and many said they were blindsided by the allegations.
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