Samuel I. Gravitt III
Wayne A. Gravitt
After police returned a missing trial witness, the Pettis County Prosecutor’s Office continues to review the cases against two Sedalia brothers charged with rape.
Prosecutor Phillip Sawyer dropped all charges against Samuel I. Gravitt III, 26, earlier this month when a key witness disappeared two days before his trial.
The Sedalia Police Department investigated the witness’s disappearance and saw her safely returned to her group home Aug. 9. Sawyer said he has spoken with the witness since her return and learned she is still willing to testify against Samuel and his brother Wayne A. Gravitt, 22.
The witness is one of three teenage girls who reported the two brothers supplied them with alcohol and had sex with them in a Sedalia motel on Oct. 24. Both Gravitt brothers were arrested and charged in the following weeks.
Before his charges were dropped, Samuel was facing three counts of second-degree rape, second-degree statutory rape, second-degree statutory sodomy, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and supplying liquor to a minor.
Charges against Wayne are still pending, as he faces four counts of second-degree statutory rape, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and supplying liquor to a minor. Other charges are pending against him in an unrelated burglary case.
Wayne was ordered to appear in court Monday for plea or trial setting for his cases. Judge Robert Koffman granted a request for a continuance from Wayne’s defense attorney, pushing the hearing to Sept. 17.
Sawyer is still reviewing how to proceed with Samuel’s dropped charges.
“Sam’s case, there is a separate investigation ongoing related to that, and my office continues to consider if or when charges will be refiled,” Sawyer said. “SPD is investigating. They are assisting with some concerns that I had.”
Sawyer said he expects Sedalia police to finish the investigation soon.
Sawyer dismissed his case against Samuel to prevent the trial from continuing without the witness. Four of the charges in the case hinged on the girl’s testimony, including her reports of rape and statutory rape.
Had Sawyer gone through with the trial without her and lost, he would have been prohibited from ever filing the charges against Samuel again.
The prosecutor previously told the Democrat he didn’t believe he could receive a continuance for the trial because Samuel would have been forced to wait out the delay in the Pettis County Jail. He had been incarcerated since his arrest in November and awaiting trial since March.
“I was concerned that the court may dismiss the matter because of how long it’s been awaiting a trial date,” Sawyer said.
Wayne was no longer in custody after posting bond for the rape case in late November.
Neither SPD nor Sawyer were able to comment on the reason for the girl’s disappearance, as the investigation involved a juvenile. Sawyer confirmed she is safe and in good health.
