Weather delays trial

Published 10:15 am Thursday, February 26, 2015

The molestation trial of Warren County man has been delayed because of inclement weather Wednesday.

Manuel Raxjal, 50, was set for trial Wednesday, but proceedings were postponed after wintry weather caused the county to shut down the courthouse for the day, District Attorney Ricky Smith said.

“It was originally set for Monday but the judges were out of town so we were trying to do it Wednesday,” Smith said.

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Raxjal was arrested June 19, 2013, and charged with touching a child younger than the age of 16 for lustful purposes, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

The defendant speaks Spanish, and the trial will use an interpreter, Smith said. Assistant District Attorneys Marcie Southerland and Angela Carperter are prosecuting the case. Eugene Perrier represents Raxjal, according to court records.

“Marcie and Angela have put a lot of work into that one and I hate that’s it ended up not happening because they spent a good part of the last two weeks getting ready for this case,” Smith said.

It was unclear when the case would be tried.

“There are a limited number of trial weeks that we have and I hate to lose one,” Smith said.

If convicted, Raxjal faces up to 15 years in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender.