EDITOR'S NOTE: The original story did not contain a statement from the defendant's attorney. His statement is included in this updated report.
Joe Wrona pled not guilty to his first degree felony rape charge in Judge Richard Mrazik’s 3rd District courtroom Friday.
Wrona wasn’t physically in court; he appeared before Mrazik virtually.
Friday’s court appearance was originally scheduled to be a preliminary hearing, which Utah law gives defendants the right to require if they choose.
The Summit County Attorney’s Office and Wrona’s attorney, Greg Skordas, both said last week they were preparing for the preliminary hearing. After Wrona formally heard the charge against him read by Mrazik Friday, he entered his plea, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, then Skordas requested a pre-trial conference.
That was set for Friday March 3rd and will be conducted remotely.
Pretrial conferences happen between lawyers for both sides and don’t involve a judge. They’re used as an attempt to negotiate deals like plea bargains and settle cases before they reach trial.
If Skordas and prosecutors aren’t successful in reaching a deal, the case will proceed to trial.
Prosecuting attorneys declined to comment after the arraignment.
In a statement to KPCW, Wrona's attorney Greg Skordas wrote, "it has taken quite a while for us to get the police reports and evidence. We are satisfied that the State has now provided everything they have. We anticipate scheduling a trial for some time this summer; maybe July or August. We believe that once a jury sees and hears all of the evidence we have, Mr. Wrona will be exonerated."
Wrona’s charge stems from his alleged rape of his adult biological daughter last year. KPCW does not name victims of sexual violence without their consent. The alleged victim lives out of state and did not attend Friday’s arraignment.