SOUTH BEND -- A local judge has ruled that the Indiana Department of Correction erred in 2010 when it released Robert Kemp Jr. from prison, three days before he attacked and raped a woman in a South Bend Walgreens bathroom.
But on all other matters for which Kemp's victim had asked for summary judgment in her favor, St. Joseph Circuit Court Judge Michael Gotsch denied them.
The victim's lawsuit, filed last July, seeks unspecified damages from the state of Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana Department of Correction, Wabash Correctional Facility, Walgreens Co. and Kemp himself related to the Jan. 1, 2011, rape.
Nearly all court documents in the case are sealed from the public to protect the woman's identity.
The woman's attorneys, Stan Wruble and Stephanie Nemeth, asked the judge in April to rule in their favor without a trial, known as a summary judgment.
But in a ruling last month, Gotsch only granted part of their request -- determining that the DOC did make a mistake, but also ruling that "there remain genuine issues of material fact" in the lawsuit that are not resolved.
The state defendants did not object to the judge ruling that the DOC released Kemp in error.
Represented by Deputy Attorney General Betsy Isenberg, the state defendants argued at a recent hearing that though it made a mistake in releasing Kemp, doing so did not amount to a breach of duty to the public or to the woman, as the woman's attorneys contended.
Isenberg said it only showed the DOC did not follow its own policy.
Kemp had just finished serving a sentence for criminal deviate conduct and residential entry when he was released into the custody of the South Bend parole district on Dec. 29, 2010. But Kemp never should have been out of police custody, since he had an active warrant in Wabash County.
Kemp was convicted last summer of the Walgreens rape and is serving a 130-year prison sentence.
Wruble and Nemeth did not return a phone call seeking comment on the judge's recent ruling.
Bryan Corbin, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said in a statement:
"The Court ruled in favor of the State of Indiana on all issues in the plaintiff's summary judgment motion, with one exception where the facts were undisputed. ... We respect the ruling of the court."
Staff writer Mary Kate Malone:
mmalone@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6337
But on all other matters for which Kemp's victim had asked for summary judgment in her favor, St. Joseph Circuit Court Judge Michael Gotsch denied them.
Nearly all court documents in the case are sealed from the public to protect the woman's identity.
The woman's attorneys, Stan Wruble and Stephanie Nemeth, asked the judge in April to rule in their favor without a trial, known as a summary judgment.
But in a ruling last month, Gotsch only granted part of their request -- determining that the DOC did make a mistake, but also ruling that "there remain genuine issues of material fact" in the lawsuit that are not resolved.
The state defendants did not object to the judge ruling that the DOC released Kemp in error.
Represented by Deputy Attorney General Betsy Isenberg, the state defendants argued at a recent hearing that though it made a mistake in releasing Kemp, doing so did not amount to a breach of duty to the public or to the woman, as the woman's attorneys contended.
Isenberg said it only showed the DOC did not follow its own policy.
Kemp had just finished serving a sentence for criminal deviate conduct and residential entry when he was released into the custody of the South Bend parole district on Dec. 29, 2010. But Kemp never should have been out of police custody, since he had an active warrant in Wabash County.
Kemp was convicted last summer of the Walgreens rape and is serving a 130-year prison sentence.
Wruble and Nemeth did not return a phone call seeking comment on the judge's recent ruling.
Bryan Corbin, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said in a statement:
"The Court ruled in favor of the State of Indiana on all issues in the plaintiff's summary judgment motion, with one exception where the facts were undisputed. ... We respect the ruling of the court."
Staff writer Mary Kate Malone:
mmalone@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6337
