GEORGE β The case against a Las Vegas man accused of exploiting a year-old girl hung in the balance of a hearing held Monday, after a defense attorney filed two motions just days before trial asking for the case to be dismissed.
Darrell Eugene Hopper, 31, appeared in 5th District Court facing one first-degree felony count of aggravated exploitation of a child prostitute and 12 third-degree felony counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a or year-old. The defendant appeared before District Judge G.
George in November Once Hopper was in police custody, he was shown a photo of the girl and admitted that he had traveled with her from Las Vegas to St. George where they stayed in a hotel together from Nov. Flint also contends that the state has not tried hard enough to contact the teen or subpoena her for trial.
The state contends that Hopper had rented the room at a motel in St. George where the teen allegedly engaged in prostitution, and the defendant benefited financially from the activity, which two undercover detectives testified to during the hearing.
Prosecutor Zach Weiland argued that the state has made many attempts to locate the teen through a family member, but that she is now supposedly living on the streets in Las Vegas. In other words, without the testimony of the individual the crime was committed against, then any evidence supporting the felony charge of aggravated exploitation of a child prostitute should be excluded from the trial under the premise that Hopper is entitled to confront his accuser, which will not be possible if she is not there.
