DAYTON — A former Montgomery County assistant prosecutor made his first appearance in court on the other side of the law after being indicted on sexual assault charges earlier this month.
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John Amos, 50, appeared in court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to five sexual assault charges, including two counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual battery. The charges stemmed from alleged actions in 2013, during Amos’ 22-year tenure at the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
Amos resigned from his position after his indictment in mid-July.
The unusual video arraignment happened in front of a visiting judge, in which everyone from the judge assigned to the case to Amos and his legal representation all appearing on video and not physically in a court room. The court appearance also featured a time change, where it was originally scheduled for Thursday morning but was later moved into the afternoon.
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Amos’ will remain on an own recognizance bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. The visiting judge has granted a motion from Amos’ defense team to limit all public access to court filings and documents moving forward.
Prosecutors previously told News Center 7 the case was sent to the Hamilton County prosecutors to avoid a conflict of interest, after an investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
However, a Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson said the prosecutor assigned to the case left the office and “her new employer did not permit her to continue working on this matter.” The case was sent back to Montgomery County.
The long delays from the time the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office completed their investigation and the time a grand jury heard the case raised questions, as did the fact that Amos kept working until resigning when charges were approved.
Two sources have told News Center 7 the FBI is investigating the handling of the case. However an FBI spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
“Our office has never been contacted by the FBI, nor have they requested any information or subpoenaed any documents. We have no idea why the FBI would be involved in this matter at all,” a Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson told News Center 7.
We’ll continue to update this story with developments in the court case as they become available.
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