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An evaluation will decide whether or not a 23-year-old Kent resident is competent to stand trial after being accused of rape in July.
Defense attorney Rolf Baumgartel filed a motion suggesting incompetence in two cases against his client, Jordan Ross Dieffenbach of 1366 Elizabeth Court, Kent.
Baumgartel spoke at a virtual hearing Wednesday afternoon in front of Washington County Common Pleas Judge John Halliday, saying he has reason to believe there are competency issues.
"We've had an independent competency evaluation done, which is why this has come up," Baumgartel said.
Washington County Prosecutor Nicole Coil had no objection to the testing, which Halliday ordered completed by the Forensic Diagnostic Center of District 9.
In his first case, Dieffenbach was indicted on three charges, including importuning, a third-degree felony; rape, a first-degree felony; and gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony.
Coil explained the importuning charge was for "soliciting another in order to engage in sexual conduct."
Dieffenbach was arrested in July after allegedly convincing a 12-year-old to meet him in the Little Hocking Elementary School parking lot. He reportedly paid the child's 8-year-old sibling to leave and "not tell anyone" before allegedly performing sexual acts upon the older child.
According to the Sheriff's Office, he contacted the child via Instagram in early June.
He was arrested after the child's parents notified law enforcement of incidents that day and allowed officers to post on the child's Instagram account encouraging a second meeting.
Dieffenbach appeared again in Washington County Common Pleas Court after indictment in the second case on three charges of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, all fourth-degree felonies.
The materials sourced for the new charges relate to alleged child pornography found on Dieffenbach's cell phone when opened through continued investigation via a search warrant after his July arrest.
The prosecutor's office noted that because the apparent minors in the images found are not photos or still video images of the Washington County minor, the cases will remain separate, including through trial if either or both cases continue before a jury.