It’s a mistrial in Summit County for Jerry Flatlip, Randall Flatlip, and Larson Rondeau, the three men charged with raping a 9-year-old Uintah County girl in 2016. According to court minutes for December 12th, day 1 of the jury trial began in the morning with prospective juror questioning. By 6:15pm that evening, the court ordered a mistrial over lack of jurors that both sides agreed upon. Judge Clark McClellan had granted the trial of the three men charged with raping the 9-year-old Uintah County girl to be moved outside the Uintah Basin last spring due to public outcry and widespread knowledge of the case by locals. The rape of the 9-year-old girl was reported to deputies on March 29th, 2016. The child was sleeping on the couch of a Uintah County residence while her mother went into the garage of the home and was smoking methamphetamine. During that time, the child was taken into another room in the home where she told investigators she was raped by the four men. Following a search warrant at the resident, 36-year-old Larson Rondeau was arrested on March 29th. 20-year-old Josiah RonDeau, 29-year-old Jerry Flatlip, and 26-year-old Randall Flatlip were arrested on March 31st and April 1st. All four men were booked into Uintah County Jail on first degree felony rape of a child and first degree sodomy on a child. In July, both charges against 20-year-old Josiah Rondeau were Dismissed without Prejudice, meaning charges can be made again in the future. Larson Rondeau, Jerry Flatlip, and Randall A. Flatlip each pleaded Not Guilty on the charges and the three men were ordered to stand trial on the rape charges. After declaring the mistrial on Tuesday, the court scheduled a telephone hearing for December 18th to determine a new jury trial date. The three men will stay in custody at the Uintah County Jail.
