Ex-teacher's rape trial delayed

JUNCTION, Piute County — A trial for a former high school teacher charged with rape has been delayed.

Lawson Rashad Sweat, 30, was scheduled to go on trial in 6th District Court on Tuesday for two counts of rape and a single count of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies. Court records indicate that the trial dates were vacated while a new judge and a new prosecutor took over the case.

No new trial date has been scheduled yet.

Sweat was a coach at Piute High School who is accused of sexually assaulting a then-16-year-old girl who was a student at the school in 2005. Sweat was a 27-year-old teacher at the time. He resigned his job there.

— Ben Winslow