Davie
cop accused of 2009 rape still waiting on second trial
DAVIE — Stephen Olenchak,
the Davie officer accused of drugging and raping a family member in March 2009,
is still waiting for a new trial date.
On Monday, Broward Circuit
Judge Jeffrey Levenson said he may set a trial date at the next status hearing
on July 11.
It will be Olenchak's
second trial.
His attorney, Jim Lewis,
expects it to begin sometime this summer.
In his first trial, jurors
found him guilty in December 2010 on one charge of sexual battery by digital
penetration and acquitted him of a second charge of penile penetration.
A judge was forced to
declare a mistrial after a juror admitted to doing her own research on
Wikipedia and bringing printouts to the jury room.
Olenchak was arrested in
March 2009 by Davie police on charges he raped a family member, then 19, while
his wife and 4-year-old son slept next to them in the same bed. Olenchak
claimed the young woman seduced him.
In the upcoming trial,
Olenchak will be tried on one count of sexual battery on a helpless victim, a
first-degree felony with a maximum 30-year sentence.
In the first trial,
Olenchak faced two charges of sexual battery, a second-degree felony with a
maximum 15-year sentence.
Prosecutors upgraded the
charge in January after Olenchak rejected a plea deal of three years.
Since his arrest, Olenchak
has come to every hearing, but was not in court Monday.
In May, Levenson told
Olenchak he was no longer required to attend status hearings.
"It's OK, your
honor," Olenchak said. "I've got to be my best advocate. My life's on
the line."
Olenchak, 37, remains
employed by the Davie Police Department pending the trial's outcome.
Even if Olenchak is
acquitted by a Broward jury, he might still lose his job if department brass
determine he engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer, Davie Police Capt.
Dale Engle said.