New trial date in Hardin case

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The trial of a former Marshall University student charged with sexual assault was rescheduled during a Monday morning hearing in Cabell County Circuit Court.

Joseph Chase Hardin

Joseph Chase Hardin, 22, is accused of sexually assaulting two female students off-campus.

Hardin currently is in jail for a previous conviction connected to a 2016 incident; he was convicted of a battery charge and sentenced to three years of probation. Hardin’s probation was revoked last month after he was indicted on the new charges.

During Monday’s hearing, Judge Alfred Ferguson moved the trial from Sept. 3 to Nov. 12 following a request from Hardin’s attorney. Because of a malfunction, the defense hasn’t been able to see information from a computer hard drive in the possession of the prosecution. Hardin’s attorneys said the information is key to their client’s defense.

The defense also asked Ferguson Monday to allow it to use an expert witness to review the circumstances of the case. Ferguson didn’t make an immediate ruling but did question why a expert would be needed.

“The issues in this case are basically, ‘she said-he said,’ ‘he said-she said,'” Ferguson said. “I don’t know of any novel issues that are going to arrive. It’s all credibility of who the jury is going to believe.”

Ferguson is expected to rule on the motion at a later date.





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