photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Jacob Gilbert, left, appears Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, at his preliminary hearing in Douglas County District Court. His attorney, Nicholas Hayes, is at right. Judge Sally Pokorny is on the bench.

A Douglas County judge on Friday ordered a 19-year-old man to stand trial for aggravated indecent liberties with a child and other offenses after he allegedly invaded a home naked in the middle of the night, terrifying a Lawrence family.

Judge Sally Pokorny heard evidence in defendant Jacob Gilbert’s case earlier this month but delayed making a probable cause decision on the most serious charge, aggravated indecent liberties, until attorneys submitted arguments on whether Gilbert’s alleged conduct would meet the definition of lewd touching.

According to earlier testimony, on Aug. 10, 2025 Gilbert walked through the unlocked front door of a home in central Lawrence, took off his clothes and encountered two girls — both under 10 — sleeping on a couch. The older of the two told a child advocacy interviewer that he sat between her and the other girl, put his hand on her stomach through a layer of blankets and kissed her once on the forehead. The kiss was variously described as “disgusting and slobbery” and like “a bird peck.” The girl indicated that the man, a stranger, covered his penis with his hand but did not touch it.

While the state stood by its charging decision, Gilbert’s defense attorney, Nicholas Hayes, argued that the described activity did not meet the definition of lewd touching and should not support a probable cause finding of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, which is punishable by a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Pokorny, citing case law, ultimately found that the question is a fact issue for the jury, not a legal conclusion for the court. Whether conduct such as kissing qualifies as lewd fondling or touching depends on the totality of the circumstances, she said, and does not necessarily require genital contact.

Still, Pokorny acknowledged that Gilbert’s case was “a close call.”

“It’s not an out-and-out clear call that it’s not lewd touching,” she said, and she asked the parties whether they had considered criminal mediation to help resolve the case short of trial. Prosecutor David Melton said the state had not yet considered that option.

“I can see a jury going either way under these circumstances,” Pokorny said. “It depends on the jury.”

At Gilbert’s preliminary hearing, Hayes also argued that his client lacked the required intent to commit the crimes he was charged with because he was high on hallucinogenic drugs at the time. However, Pokorny said the question of intent would also be one for the jury to decide.

Gilbert was bound over for trial on charges of aggravated indecent liberties and aggravated residential burglary, both felonies, and misdemeanor battery. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 18.