Dale Field trial date pushed back in rape case

Jan. 04--FAIRMONT -- Dale Field, who stands accused of raping a 16-year-old twice in March of 2017, successfully motioned at a preliminary hearing on Wednesday to push back his trial until the February term of court.

Discussed at the hearing were motions such as whether to admit an audio interview into evidence and value of allowing the defense to hire an independent forensic investigator, which lead to the trial being continued.

On March 25, about 10 days after the alleged incidents, Field was asked to come to the new West Virginia State Police barracks in Fairmont to update his sex-offender registry information.

In 2011, Field pleaded guilty to a felony in Ohio for having unlawful sexual conduct with a 14-year-old, for which he served three years in Lorain Correctional Institution.

Cpl. T.W. Morris testified at a Nov. 21 preliminary hearing that he had asked Field to come to the station to update his information, and while he was there he questioned Field about the allegations, which Morris had not informed him of prior to his arrival.

Because Field, 37, of Fairmont, had contact with a minor he was in violation of his parole order, and his parole officer informed Morris that he had the option to hold Field if he decided to.

The state, represented by Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Freeman, argued that because charges had not yet been filed in this case and the hold order was optional, the interview was technically non-custodial and therefore Morris did not have to read Field his Miranda rights prior to the interview.

David DeMoss, who represents Field and was motioning to suppress the tape, argued that Field was not free to leave because of the hold order and therefore the interview was custodial.

Morris said Field was aware of the serious nature of the charges and participated in the interview of his own free will, and Freeman said that because Field was not informed of the hold order until after the interview was over there was no inherent coercion.

DeMoss also motioned to suppress his client's prior criminal history and testimony from the victim as to other alleged sexual abuse by Field that had occurred in the past, so as not to prejudice the jury in this case.

Judge Patrick Wilson said that though Field did admit to other crimes on the tape, it was not particularly relevant because he did not confess to the matter at hand. He also ruled that a jury did not need to hear the details of his prior conviction because it was not germane to determining the facts in the March 2017 incidents.

At the Nov. 21 hearing, DeMoss also motioned to hire an evidentiary expert to examine a dresser and rug, where the alleged rapes took place, for any physical evidence of a sex crime.

Freeman questioned the value of what the expert would find given that the crime was alleged to have occurred eight months ago -- now almost 10 -- and the scene had not been preserved by police.

"Someone is going to have to convince the court that this is the same mat, that the mat was in the home and that the mat was collected close in time to when Mr. Field was taken into custody and hasn't been tampered with over the last seven to eight months," Freeman said.

Wilson ruled to allow the defense to hire the expert, but said establishing a chain of custody might be an issue. The defense moved to continue the trial to allow the expert time to do his or her work, to which the state did not object.

Wilson pointed out that though the trial was moved to the February term, a trial date could be as late as May.

Email Carter Walker at cwalker@timeswv.com and follow him on Twitter at @carterw284.

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