A Dane County judge has cleared the way for separate trials, for a former University of Wisconsin-Madison student. Prosecutors had requested joining two separate cases against 22-year-old Alec Cook, who faces more than 20 counts, including sexual assault, false imprisonment and disorderly conduct.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Judge John Hyland issued an 8 page written decision on Friday, ruling that the two cases would be tried separately. “The court does not find that the actions, even rising to the level of a false imprisonment, were at the time part of a common scheme or plan,” Hyland wrote.
Cook’s attorneys have been vocally opposed to the joining of the cases, but said it would be inappropriate to comment, since the judge’s ruling “only partially resolves the pending issues regarding joinder and severance. The defense motion to split the older case into separate trials remains pending.”
