A new trial date has been set after a mistrial was declared in the case of a 51-year-old woman accused of forcing a teenage boy to touch her genitals at gunpoint in Ryderwood.
Jenny Laurel Kearney was found guilty on June 13 of indecent liberties, two counts of third-degree child molestation, and a felony harassment charge after a three-day jury trial in Cowlitz County Superior Court.
However, court records show the jury inadvertently received a copy of a police report on Kearney called a “supplemental narrative,” which included statements and information not admitted or testified on during the trial, so the judge declared a mistrial.
Kearney’s attorney, CeCelia Andrews of the Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense, argues in the mistrial motion that the supplemental narrative contained statements from neighbors who were not called as witnesses, as well as the personal opinion of the arresting officer.
In Andrews’ June 16 motion for a mistrial, she writes that these types of police reports can’t be used as evidence in most cases because statements made by witnesses can’t be cross-examined by a defense attorney. Officers writing the reports also include assumptions or interpretations of the investigation.
According to the probable cause statement that led to Kearney’s arrest, police arrived at 7:11 p.m. May 30, 2024, to a home in the 600 block of Morse Street in Ryderwood after a man reported a teen ran to his home saying a woman chased him with a gun.
The 15-year-old victim told police Kearney made inappropriate comments to him while at her Ryderwood home to do yard work. He said she was taking shots of alcohol while a gun sat in a holster on the counter.
The supplemental narrative states Kearney asked him if he had a girlfriend and made other sexually explicit comments.
According to the probable cause statement, the victim went along with Kearney’s demands by touching her breast and vagina.
Kearney later told authorities that the victim raped her.
However, the victim’s mother said Kearney told her nothing happened. The victim’s mother also shared text messages between her and her child with law enforcement, in which the victim divulged that Kearney had made explicit comments towards him, the probable cause statement says.
Kearney’s next court date is set for Aug. 13, with a tentative start date of Sept. 9 for a jury trial.
