HUTCHINSON, Kan. — During pretrial motions for a 55-year-old man charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, Judge Trish Rose took under advisement whether to suppress statements Richard Dean McHenry made when he was brought to the Law Enforcement Center back in May of 2016.

He’s accused in a case where the victim says the relationship between the two started back in 2009 when she was 16, but changed over time. His demeanor toward her also changed. The victim alleges the sexual encounters occurred in December of 2015 and April of 2016 and were forced.

The defense claims that, because two detectives brought him to the law enforcement center for questioning over his requirement to register as a sex offender but then later questioned him about the sexual assaults that led to his arrest, he was misled or tricked. The defense says any statements made before his Miranda rights were read, and even after, should be suppressed because they were coerced.

The state argues that the detectives with the Reno County Sheriff’s Office came up with this plan because of fear for the safety of the victim. They argue that law enforcement never placed him under arrest. He never felt he was in custody and even worried whether they would bring him back to his place of employment. He also had his cell phone and could have made a call at any time.

Judge Rose decided that she wanted to review the taped interview and decide whether the defendant was coerced into giving statements and whether his constitutional rights were violated.

If McHenry is convicted of the sodomy charges, he would be considered a persistent sex offender, meaning he could get double the sentence. He has a prior conviction for aggravated criminal sodomy for a case from 2000 out of Jefferson County and is required to register as a sex offender.