Willis Allen at his detention hearing.
A Belleplain man charged in the sexual assault of a little girl has developmental disabilities, his attorney told the judge during a detention hearing Friday.
Willis Allen Jr., 29, was put back on release, where he has been since September.
Allen was re-arrested May 1, after a new charge of conspiracy in the case.His compliance while he's been on release coupled with the new charge still being part of the same case he was already granted release on led to Judge Christopher Gibson's decision.
"He maintains his innocence and we look forward to being able to prove (that) at the point in time when we can get back in court and before jury," attorney Meg Hoerner told BreakingAC after the decision.
Allen and Ryan Roach are accused of sexually assaulting the daughter of Roach's longtime girlfriend sometime between December 2018 and January 2019. Roach also faces allegations of previous assaults when he lived with the girl's mother, Teresa Millard.
In January, new allegations were made by Roach's cell mate in the jail, Jay Calcott, that Millard acted as lookout while the two men assaulted her daughter. Millard was ordered detained on those charges last month.
It also led to second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated sexual assault charges for both ut the new charge shouldn't have allowed the state another chance to hold Allen, after he was released in September for the same case, Hoerner told the judge.
She also questioned how Calcott's account — "a double hearsay statement" — would be admissible at trial.
"Any time the court hears charges like this, it is a concern," Hoerner said. "These are disturbing allegations.... But Mr. Allen, as he stands before this court, is presumed innocent (and) he is ready to fight these charges."
Millard will undergo a competency hearing at the request of Cape May County Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten. That was after Hoerner pointed out a letter from an Arc of Atlantic County worker, who indicated Allen has been deemed incapacitated and has the services of the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
