Khalil Perry's rape case continues in adult court after hearing affirms his mental state
WAUKESHA - More than a year since he was first charged as a juvenile and later as an adult in a high-profile rape case, Khalil Perry returned to court Thursday to again have his mental competency reviewed, with the same result.
Charged with four felonies involving an attack on an 87-year woman near the Waukesha Public Library, Perry, 15, of Waukesha was found competent, a decision by Waukesha Circuit County Court Judge Jennifer Dorow that will allow the case to continue in adult court, with a long-delayed preliminary hearing now set for Dec. 21.
At the center of the Dec. 8 hearing was a report by Dr. Deborah Collins, director of the Wisconsin Forensic Unit, who examined Perry on a request filed Sept. 28 by his public defender attorney, Nicole Ostrowski, following an earlier exam that found him competent to proceed in the criminal case.
On the stand Thursday, Collins testified she found no basis for repeated defense claims that Perry was not competent enough to aid in his own defense. Her detailed report of an examination earlier this fall was also admitted as an exhibit, providing the basis for her conclusion.
Under state statutes, claims of mental incompetency must first be reviewed before any case can proceed in criminal court.
Collins' report and Dorow's ruling means the case will continue in adult court, following an unsuccessful appeal by Ostrowski to have the case returned to juvenile court, where it was originally filed several days after Perry's arrest on Nov. 30, 2021.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 2 that an earlier discretionary decision by Juvenile Court Judge Maria Lazar was not erroneous and reached "a reasonable conclusion."
Perry is accused of first-degree sexual assault with use of a dangerous weapon, armed robbery with use of force, operating a vehicle without the owner's consent and kidnapping, all involving an 87-year-old Waukesha woman who was held at knifepoint near the book return machine outside the library, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman told investigators that Perry pulled a knife and held it to her throat, commandeered her car with her in the passenger seat and drove her to an apartment complex parking lot near the library, where he assaulted her, the complaint said. He then allegedly took her wallet and drove off in her car, which he was found driving shortly thereafter by police.
The preliminary hearing, set for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 21, will address those allegations to determine whether there is enough evidence to conclude that a crime might have occurred. That hearing had initially been set for Sept. 2 and was postponed by Perry's mental incompetency claims.
Perry remains in custody in the Washington County Secure Detention Facility in West Bend on $250,000 bail.
Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Khalil Perry again found competent in 2021 Waukesha rape case
