Former Fruitland track coach seeks dismissal of indictment on sexual assault charges
A former Fruitland High School assistant track coach is trying to get his indictment on sexual assault charges dismissed, but the matter won’t be decided until Feb. 3.
A jury trial for Kelly Rhinehart, 53, of Fruitland, was supposed to start that day, but instead there will be a status conference hearing, at which the defense will present its motion to dismiss. Rhinehart’s attorneys claim that testimony was allowed improperly and biased the jurors.
In Payette County court on Friday, 3rd District Judge Davis VanderVelde said that new information received by the prosecution led to a request for a delay in the proceedings.
“We are up against speedy trial deadlines,” VanderVelde said. “Typically, the state is required to bring a matter to trial within six months of the first appearance following an indictment. If the state fails to meet this obligation, the case may be dismissed.”
Rhinehart agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial.
Rhinehart’s indictment came after he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in Payette County, according to a copy of the charges. It also outlines at least four occasions between last March and April in which Rhinehart is accused of sexually abusing the girl.
The grand jury indictment charged Rhinehart on suspicion of one count of rape, one count of sexual battery of a minor ages 16 or 17 by lewd or lascivious contact, and three counts of sexual battery of a minor ages 16 or 17 by sexual contact.
He has pleaded not guilty.
After a records request was filed by the Statesman, the Fruitland School District confirmed that Rhinehart’s date of hire was Feb. 26, 2016. His date of resignation was May 5, 2019.
Rhinehart is well-known in the Treasure Valley as the founder of Roady’s Truck Stops, which formerly sponsored what is now called the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. From 2007 to 2009, it was the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl, played on Boise State’s blue turf.
The request to dismiss his indictment is based on multiple pieces of testimony to the grand jury that the defense claims were improper, including statements made by a Fruitland Police Department detective and testimony about the victim’s alleged sexual victimization by a party other than Rhinehart.
The prosecution disputed all of the claims.
The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is handling prosecution of the case, after the Payette County Prosecutor’s Office cited a conflict of interest in June.
