Missouri judge officiates marriage between statutory rape defendant and victim; his wife later vacates guilty plea

"'Tis strange,—but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction; if it could be told, How much would novels gain by the exchange! How differently the world would men behold! How oft would vice and virtue places change! The new world would be nothing to the old, If some Columbus of the moral seas Would show mankind their souls' antipodes." — Byron, Don Juan

Case Background

In a ruling issued yesterday, Judge Stephen Clark of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri addressed the case of Stewart v. Pemiscot County, describing it as a demonstration of Lord Byron's maxim that "truth is stranger than fiction."

Key Facts

• October 2009: Stewart pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory rape. At the time of the offense, Stewart was 17 years old and the victim was 13 years old.
• Plea Agreement: Judge William Carter—then a private attorney—negotiated Stewart's plea agreement. The written judgment imposed four years of suspended sentence and four years' probation. According to Stewart, "no lifetime GPS supervision appeared" in the judgment.
• GPS Agreement: Three months later, Stewart and Probation Officer Libby Banks signed a Global Positioning Agreement mandating compliance until 2058.
• Probation Completion: Stewart completed his term of probation in October 2013 without any violations.
• Marriage: Seven years after the offense, Stewart married the victim. Judge Carter—Stewart's former defense attorney—served as the officiant. The couple now has six children together.

Subsequent Legal Proceedings

2022 Charges

In 2022, Stewart was charged with violating Mo. Rev. Stat. § 575.206 ("Violating a Condition of Lifetime Supervision"), a class D felony. Judge Carter—Stewart's former plea counsel—presided over his arraignment and the next eight months of the case until February 2023, when the case was transferred to Judge Reeves without explanation.

Alleged Communications

Stewart claims that his public defender informed him that "Judge Carter wants [him] to call his wife Kimberly, [because] she may be able to assist [him] in the matter along with [the public defender]." Stewart allegedly called Kimberly Carter the same day, and she reportedly said that "Bill (William Carter) had already gotten her up to speed" and that she would file a motion on his behalf. Kimberly Carter allegedly charged Stewart $750 for her representation.

Motion to Vacate Guilty Plea

In April 2023, Kimberly Carter—Judge Carter's wife—entered an appearance on Stewart's behalf and filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In her motion, she argued:

• Stewart "was assured by the understanding of plea counsel" (her husband, Judge Carter) and the prosecuting attorney that, should he successfully complete supervision, the conviction would be removed from his record without further consequence.
• Stewart "has refused to comply with the added condition of wearing a Global Positioning System unit," though he continued to comply with registration requirements.
• Stewart's guilty plea "resulted in a manifest injustice because it violated his rights to due process and to the effective assistance of counsel" under the U.S. Constitution and Missouri Constitution.
• "[B]ut for plea counsel's and prosecuting attorney's explanations of the consequences of his guilty plea, rendering his guilty plea unknowing and involuntary, [Stewart] would not have entered a plea of guilty and would have insisted on his constitutional right to a jury trial."

Outcome

In late July 2023, Judge Keith Currie granted Stewart's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Judge Currie vacated Stewart's conviction and removed "any requirement for registration and/or supervision as a sexual offender that may have been imposed based upon said conviction."

Stewart now sues Pemiscot County and various county officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to cover up the terms of his plea agreement.