Sentence handed down in rape case

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A Liberty man was sentenced to three years in prison this week in connection with a rape that occurred at a private residence in Maryville in March 2015.

Tyreak Alexander Speed, 25, appeared in Nodaway County Circuit Court and was ordered to serve 120 days in a Missouri Department of Corrections sex offender assessment unit.

According to court records, if Speed successfully completes the program he would be eligible for release on five years of probation.

The sentencing followed a victim-impact statement and arguments by Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice and defense attorney Larry Kinnamon Jr.

Rice asked the court for a maximum seven-year sentence. The defense argued for probation.

Speed was arrested after Maryville Public Safety officers investigated the assault, which occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 15, 2015, at a residence in the 700 block of North Mulberry Street.

The victim was described as a 19-year-old university student who reportedly met the suspect earlier in the night at a “separate social gathering at another location.”

According to court documents, the victim, after consuming intoxicating substances, fell asleep and awoke to find a man having sex with her. She told police she told the man to stop, but that he refused to do so.

Following Monday’s hearing Speed was released on bond pending the results of an appeal filed by his attorney.