By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
A former Smoky Valley Middle School counselor whose 2014 convictions of rape of a child under the age of 14 were vacated by the Kansas Supreme Court in September has pleaded no contest to contributing to a child's misconduct in the case.
According to Saline County District Court documents, Judge Patrick H. Thompson accepted Brooke Dinkel's no contest plea Wednesday.
Dinkel, now 40, was convicted in Saline County District Court in 2014. According to court records, the victim was a student at the middle school. When the case went to trial, Dinkel had been charged with 10 counts of rape of a child under 14 years of age, and 10 counts of criminal sodomy for allegedly engaging in sex acts with the student. A jury convicted Dinkel of two counts of rape of a child under 14 years of age, and acquitted her of the remaining 18 charges, according to information in a later Kansas Supreme Court ruling on the case.
In her defense, Dinkel argued the alleged victim had physically forced the first act of sexual intercourse and blackmailed Dinkel into continuing the sexual contact and that she had a mental disease or defect.
After the conviction in Saline County District Court, Dinkel appealed, alleging a number of errors, and the Court of Appeals remanded the case for a hearing on whether her trial counsel had been ineffective, according to information released by the Kansas Supreme Court with its ruling. The district court concluded that Dinkel's counsel had not been ineffective and the Court of Appeals agreed. Additionally, the Court of Appeals rejected Dinkel's claims of error, largely based on its conclusion that her intent was irrelevant because there is no mental culpability requirement for rape of a child.
"On review, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals conclusion that Dinkel's intent was irrelevant. It ruled that evidence the sexual intercourse was physically forced was relevant to the voluntary act requirement," the Kansas Supreme Court information noted.
The Kansas Supreme Court then remanded the case to the district court for a hearing concerning whether Dinkel's counsel had been ineffective for failing to argue the voluntary act requirement. According to the information from the Kansas Supreme Court, the district court concluded counsel had not been ineffective.
"In an opinion written by Justice Eric Rosen, a majority of the Supreme Court disagreed. It held that counsel had been ineffective when it failed to craft a defense that rendered Dinkel's claims of forced intercourse legally relevant. But it affirmed the Court of Appeals conclusion there is no mental culpability requirement for rape of a child," the Kansas Supreme Court noted when it vacated Dinkel's convictions in September.
The plea agreement
According to plea agreement information provided in Saline County District Court documents, "The Defendant will plead no contest to contributing to a child’s misconduct, 21- 5603(a)(4), a SL8 person felony. Both parties will recommend the Defendant be sentenced to the maximum sentence in the applicable guideline grid box and one-year’s post release supervision. The State agrees it will not oppose an expungement when available under the statute, as long as the Defendant has had no convictions in that time period."
The maximum presumptive sentence for contributing to a child's misconduct, a felony, is 23 months in prison and a potential fine of $100,000, according to Saline County District Court documents.
Salina Post requested a comment from the Saline County Attorney's Office concerning why a plea deal was accepted over retrying the case. Check SalinaPost.com for more as details become available.