Scotts Bluff County District Judge Leo Dobrovolny has dismissed the charges brought by a petition-called grand jury against 25 year old Charyse Geurts in connection with the 2008 death of her 2-year old daughter Juliette.

Dobrovolny agreed with defense attorney Bell Island that the charges of accessory to a felony and false reporting were brought after the 3-year statute of limitations on such charges expired.

Special prosecutor Jim Zimmerman now has 30 days to decide on whether he will appeal…first to Dobrovolny, then to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

Zimmerman maintains that the statutue of limitations should be 7 years…the same as for major crimes…because they “piggy-back” on the felony child abuse resulting in death charges brought by the same grand jury against 26 year old Dustin Chauncey for actually causing the toddler’s death.

The problem for Zimmerman is that he has no case law to support his contection. He says it’s unlikely Dobrovolny will reconsider his decision to dismiss without precedent, but that the appeals court might.

Chauncey, Charyse Guerts’ boyfriend at the time of Juliette’s death, began serving a prison term in Colorado in an unrelated case about the time the grand jury indictments were issued. He has yet to appear on the felony child abuse count, but is expected to be brought back to Scotts Bluff County for that in next few weeks.