Jackson Mahomes’ preliminary hearing in Kansas sexual battery case canceled — for now

A preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in the felony sexual battery case against Jackson Mahomes has been canceled, according to court records.

The hearing was canceled after Mahomes’ defense attorneys asked for a continuance, prosecutors said. A scheduling conference, set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, will be held instead, court records show.

Prosecutors charged Mahomes in May with three felony counts of aggravated sexual battery. The charges stem from a Feb. 25 incident where Mahomes allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat and forcibly kissed her in the office of the Overland Park restaurant she owned at the time.

He also faces a misdemeanor count of battery in an alleged assault of a waiter at the same restaurant. Mahomes is free on $100,000 bond.

The preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for late August but was postponed until Tuesday because the judge presiding over the case contracted COVID-19.

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors outline their case and call witnesses to testify. If the judge determines prosecutors established sufficient probable cause for the case to move forward, the judge orders the defendant to be “bound over” for trial.

Mahomes, a social media influencer and brother of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was seen celebrating with Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes at the Kansas City Chiefs football game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Aspen Vaughn, the woman whose encounter with Mahomes was captured on security camera, has since closed the restaurant, contending that her business suffered as a result of the publicity associated with the case.

This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 5:30 PM.