Baldwin girl's rape case turned over to state
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[RANDOLPH COUNTY - The Belleville News-Democrat reported last week that Randolph County Sheriff Fred Frederking turned over a rape case, involving a 14-year old Baldwin girl, to the State's Attorney Randy Rodewald on May 6.
Rodewald said that he is studying the case and has not made a determination on issuing charges. He said he has no other comment on the case at this time.
Back in April, Frederking disputed the Belleville paper's contention that his department had botched the case.
The News-Democrat learned about the situation through the girl's grandparents/guardians, Tim and Sandra Clossen.
In August of 2009, a 14-year old Baldwin girl told her grandparents she'd been raped at a duck blind at the Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area by one man while four other men stood by and watched.
The girl was taken to the Red Bud Regional Hospital and subsequently transferred to a hospital in St. Louis for a rape kit test to be performed.
Meanwhile the girl's story seemed to fall apart. "Everything she told us has been found to be not true," Frederking said. She keeps giving us different suspects. She's had other issues besides this."
In December the test results came back negative, indicating that semen was not present. However, a negative rape test kit does not mean a rape did not occur, according to Polly Poskin, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, who was cited by the News-Democrat.
A social worker, who interviewed the Baldwin girl, wrote a three page report in which she concluded, "…this social worker believes the patient was sexually assaulted."
Frederking told the News-Democrat he doubts the state's attorney will prosecute because of the girl repeatedly changing her story.