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A 25-year-old Joplin man waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Jasper County Circuit Court and was ordered bound over for trial on a charge of sexual assault.
Nathaniel A. Stevenson is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman on Feb. 12 at an address on the west side of Joplin.
The woman, who is from Newton County, told police that she went to sleep at the residence where she had attended a birthday party and woke up to find Stevenson sexually assaulting her. A probable-cause affidavit states that she yelled at him to stop and began kicking him.
According to the affidavit, Stevenson later tried to flee as police arrived at the address in response to a call reporting the assault.
Associate Judge Richard Copeland set the defendant’s initial appearance in a trial division of the court for May 7.
