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 sexual battery charge was refiled against a man just hours after it was dismissed because the alleged 16-year-old victim was unable to travel to a hearing.

The man, Isaiah Jamin Duckworth, 35, of Lawrence, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one felony count of aggravated sexual battery of a person who is overcome by force or by fear, according to the charging document. The incident is alleged to have occurred on Oct. 11, 2022.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office filed its motion to dismiss the case around 10 a.m. Thursday and refiled the charges around 5 p.m., according to court records. According to the motion to dismiss, the charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled, after the girl moved out of state and her guardian was unable to get her to a preliminary hearing on Jan. 5, as the Journal-World reported.

Duckworth was never released from the Douglas County Jail because he has a warrant in California that kept him in custody, according to the jail booking log. Once the charges were refiled, Judge Sally Pokorny set a cash or surety bond of $50,000.

Duckworth is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 18, for a status update on his case.