Adam Michael Kincaid
Provided photo.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A rape trial against a former New Palestine man scheduled to be heard this week in Hancock County Superior Court 1 after multiple delays, has been postponed yet again.
The trial of Adam Michael Kincaid, 24, 8600 block of East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, was supposed to start Tuesday of this week. However, court officials sent out information late Monday afternoon informing everyone associated with the case that the trial had been postponed due to the court’s decision.
Judge D.J. Davis noted the trial was being continued on the court’s own motion due to an unexpected death in his family. Court records indicate the case will now go to trial Monday, Aug. 7 and is expected to last through Thursday, Aug. 10.
Hancock County prosecutor Brent Eaton noted his deputy prosecutors were disappointed in yet another postponement of justice for the victims but they understand the judge’s situation and wants to wish Judge Davis and his family well.
Kincaid, who has entered a not guilty plea, has been charged with two different Level 3 felony rape charges as well as two different Level 6 felony sexual battery charges stemming from an incident involving two different women in June of 2018. The most serious charges in the case carry anywhere from three to 16 years in prison.
The case has been delayed multiple times over the past several years first due to COVID, then due to new evidence emerging and then to witness unavailability, according to court documents. Kincaid has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting the women while he and the women were riding in the back seat of a car following a night of drinking at a party in the county in June of 2018.
Eaton noted his office has done a great deal of work in preparing for the case and said his office feels for the victims who had readied themselves to testify after multiple delays. The announcement of the delay came late Monday around 4:20 p.m., less than 16 hours before the jury selection process was to begin Tuesday morning.
“The justice process can be difficult for the victims,” Eaton said. “They were mentally ready to go through this and this is a traumatic thing for them and I’m sure the victims are very disappointed as they are ready to see the process move forward and be finished.”
Kincaid, a 2017 New Palestine High School graduate, is also facing a different rape charge in Marion County from a completely different incident in 2021. The trial in Indianapolis is scheduled for mid-September in Marion Superior Court 31. In that case, Kincaid is facing a charge of Level 3 felony rape and a Level 5 felony count of criminal confinement from an incident in March of 2021.
