State v. Oppelt

¶1 David A. Oppelt Jr. was accused by his stepdaughter in 2001 of sexually abusing her. The police investigated but, without justification for the delay, Oppelt was not charged until 2007. Oppelt argued that his due process rights were violated by the preaccusatorial delay of over six years, and that the charges against him should therefore be dismissed. The trial court disagreed, and Oppelt was convicted of child molestation. Oppelt appealed, arguing that the trial court had misapplied the preaccusatorial delay test for determining whether due process was violated by the delay. Due process…