Abduction suspect pleads guilty to two counts; still will be tried for rape

A Stoddard County, Mo., man accused of a 2012 rape and abduction near Advance, Mo., has pleaded guilty to some of the charges.

Steven Clark Rendleman, 52, will face a jury trial Dec. 3 to 5 in a Franklin County, Mo., courtroom before Judge Gael D. Wood.

The trial, originally set for Aug. 28 to 30, was delayed at the request of Rendleman's attorney, Ian Keith Page.

Rendleman is charged with forcible rape with aggravating acts, forcible sodomy, armed criminal action, kidnapping, felonious restraint, assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree, felony property damage and resisting arrest.

Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver said he informed Rendleman's lawyer of his intent to bring the rape charges to a separate trial from the law enforcement officer assault charges. Oliver said the two are separate offenses and should be tried as such.

In response, Rendleman elected to plead guilty to Class A felony of assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action.

While the maximum sentence for a Class A felony is a life sentence, the unclassified felony carries no maximum sentence. As a result, regardless of the rape charges, Rendleman could serve the remainder of his life in prison.

Oliver said he was pleased with the guilty plea, but plans to move forward to trial on the rape charges.

In addition to the guilty plea, a series of motions have been filed by the state and the defense. One motion, filed by Oliver, requests the right to inform the jury of Rendleman's prior status as a sex offender.

While such information typically is not allowed in a case, Oliver states in the motion he sees this as an important steppingstone in building a case against Rendleman.

He states in the motion the victim's knowledge of Rendleman's status is vital to showing her lack of consent. Oliver states the victim was dancing with Rendleman when a friend came up to her and asked whether she knew who she was dancing with.

"That's Steve Rendleman. He's a sex offender," the friend reportedly stated.

That friend will testify in court she informed the alleged victim of his status and she then avoided him.

Oliver also will argue that anger over that incident was Rendleman's motive for taking the alleged victim to a remote graveyard and raping her.

Oliver states in the report he also plans to use the information to paint a more complete picture of the circumstances and the arrest. He said Rendleman's status as a sex offender is the reason her friends became so concerned after they discovered her missing. The friends quickly formed search parties and began searching for the victim.

Oliver argues were it not for Rendleman's sex-offender status, they might not have taken such action. He states in the report the behavior of the witnesses could be "unfairly discredited as over-reactionary unless their entire rationale is known to the jury."

Judge Wood has yet to rule on the motion.

Rendleman's arrest came in March 2012 after officers were alerted to the alleged abduction from an Advance bar and began the investigation. Stoddard County Sheriff's deputy Tim McCoy pulled into a rural Advance cemetery, where he found Rendleman and the alleged victim. The victim ran to the police car and a car chase ensued that involved several gunshots fired by officers. After attempts to subdue Rendleman with a stun-gun, he eventually surrendered.

Oliver announced he will seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole because of Rendleman's prior rape convictions in Stoddard and Cape Girardeau counties.

The bar in question, Charley Brown's in Advance, has since closed.

Pertinent address:

Advance, Mo.