photo by: Chris Conde/ Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in September 2018.

A case against a Lawrence woman accused of fondling a 4-year-old was dismissed Friday in Douglas County District Court.

The woman, Ashlyn Marie Sloan, 30, had been charged with one felony count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child by lewd fondling or touching. The charge relates to an incident between July and December of 2021, according to charging documents.

Judge Stacey Donovan dismissed the charge without prejudice, which means the case may be refiled later. The dismissal was requested by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden, who listed “insufficient evidence to proceed at this time” as the reason.

The request for dismissal was filed on Thursday, just a day before Sloan was scheduled for a preliminary hearing, at which a judge would have determined if there was sufficient evidence to order her to stand trial.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, Sloan was booked into the Douglas County Jail on the charge on April 19 and was released on a $100,000 surety bond.