photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A Lawrence man facing three counts of rape waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday in Douglas County District Court and is instead pursuing criminal mediation in his case.

The man, Andreios Samuel Alexander, 26, has been charged with raping a 33-year-old who he knew was unable to give consent, according to charging documents from the court. The charges relate to three occasions between November 2021 and March of this year.

Alexander’s defense attorney, Michael Clarke, said that the parties involved were entering into criminal mediation to attempt to resolve the charges.

Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden said that he did not object to working through mediation in this case.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office last week filed a motion for an upward departure from sentencing guidelines, which, if granted, would mean a longer prison sentence for Alexander if he were to be convicted.

“The victim was particularly vulnerable due to reduced mental capacity which should have been known to the offender,” according to the motion filed by District Attorney Suzanne Valdez and Seiden.

Judge Blake Glover was sitting in for Judge Stacey Donovan, and he set Alexander’s next court date for Aug. 9 for a status update on the mediation process.

After the hearing, Alexander was returned to the Douglas County Jail, where he has been in custody on a $75,000 cash bond since his arrest in April.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has declined to release Alexander’s booking photo.