Overland Park couple charged with rape and sodomy in Lake of the Ozarks area
Investigators are asking sexual assault survivors to come forward after an Overland Park couple was charged with rape, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
Carl Mort, 41, and Cassandra Wedeking, 39, are each charged in Morgan County with rape, four counts of sodomy and drug possession offenses.
The couple’s arrest was a result of an ongoing investigation in the Lake of the Ozarks region, including Camden, Miller and Morgan counties, the highway patrol said.
Investigators are asking that anyone with information about sexual assaults in the past five years in the Ozarks region to come forward. A male and female suspect may have befriended people, provided drugs or alcohol, taken them to a boat and sexually assaulted them.
Court records show Mort and Wedeking were released on bond with GPS monitoring in Overland Park.
According to a probable cause statement, Mort and Wedeking met a woman at a bar in July 2019 in Gravois Mills. The three went to Wedeking’s boat where the woman was allegedly assaulted, court documents said.
The couple said the encounter was consensual.
Matthew O’Connor, Mort’s defense attorney, said sexual assault cases are difficult.
“These are very serious charges and violence towards women is an epidemic in the country,” he said. “However, unless and until a jury finds that there’s evidence corroborating and proving beyond a reasonable doubt that this in fact occurred, at this point it’s a very harming and painful accusation.”
Wedeking’s defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
According to highway patrol records, Mort was injured in May 2019 at marina in Morgan County when he tried to start a boat and the engine compartment exploded.
Anyone with information about sexual assaults, including survivors and witnesses, is asked to call Troop F’s criminal unit at the highway patrol at 573-526-6329, ext. 3632.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 10:57 AM.
