Judge overturns conviction for 2002 juvenile detention rape

MISSOULA (AP) — A retired District Court judge has overturned a man's conviction for a 2002 rape at the juvenile detention center in Missoula.

District Judge Ed McLean wrote Tuesday that testimony during a Dec. 12 hearing undermined his confidence in the conviction against Cody Marble, who was 17 when he was charged with raping a 13-year-old boy.

The alleged victim, Robert Thomas, committed suicide after a day-long standoff with police in Havre April 6, 2014.

Attorney Colin Stephenssaid he doubts the case will be retried.

Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, a Havre High School graduate, filed a motion to dismiss the case last April. Her petition argued that at least three witnesses, including the accuser, had recanted their testimony and that jail officers said there was no window of opportunity for the rape to have happened.

Marble, who is now 32, was released from prison in April.