June 20, 2018 – The trial of Matthew C. Lindsey, charged with two class C felonies in the alleged statutory rapes of a 16-year-old Richmond High School cheerleader in 1997 and 1998, has been moved from Ray County to Warren County – around 175 miles east – at the request of the defense. At the time of the alleged assaults — Oct. 1, 1997, through May 23, 1998 — Lindsey was basketball coach at RHS.
A jury trial scheduled for Aug. 27 in the 8th Circuit Court in Ray County has been canceled. No new date has yet been set by the 12th Circuit Court, which serves Warren, Audrain and Montgomery counties. It’s presumed the new trial will take place at the Warren County Courthouse in Warrenton.
Lindsey, who has pleaded not guilty, is out of jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond. If convicted, Lindsey, who court records show lives on East Truman Road in Oak Grove, could face up to seven years maximum prison time for each of the two counts. Lindsey, 49, would have been 29 at the time of the alleged assaults.
The Western Missouri Cyber Crimes statement of probable cause is dated Jan. 10, 2017. In sexual-assault cases where the victim is under 18 at the time of the attack, the statue has 30 years to prosecute.
Lindsey worked for the Richmond R-XVI school district from 1995 to 2000, serving at various times as a special-education teacher, head boys basketball coach, assistant principal and athletic director.
When he was arrested in 2017, Lindsey had been principal at Winnetonka High School in North Kansas City for nine years.