KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Excelsior Springs man accused of kidnapping a woman and then sexually assaulting and beating her for a month in the basement of his residence was arraigned for the third time in Clay County Circuit Court in Liberty.
Timothy Haslett didn’t address the court during a brief appearance Friday before Clay County Judge Alisha O’Hara, but his attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Haslett’s hands were shackled as he stood next to his attorney, wearing a gray and black striped jail uniform with his hair pulled back in a ponytail and a long gray beard.
He was arraigned for a second time on nine charges — one count of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child — brought forth from a grand jury indictment in February 2023.
Those charges superseded the original charges from October 2022.
Haslett, 40, originally was charged last October with rape, kidnapping and assault after the alleged victim escaped from the house in the 300 block of Old Orchard Street and sought help from neighbors.
Clay County refiled the charges from the superseding indictment, which overrode those initial charges, as part of a sweeping effort to “cure” a series of indictments handed down from November 2022 to March 2023 by the grand jury.
There was no change to the charges and Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said the grand-jury issue, upon which he refused to elaborate, wasn’t prejudicial nor did it violate any defendants’ rights.
Haslett’s next court appearance is set for April 24. He remains jailed on a $3-million bond.
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