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Omaha man to face 7 counts in 2001 Iowa rape case

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November 18th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge has ruled that prosecutors can move ahead with seven counts against an Omaha, Neb., man accused of raping and beating a Council Bluffs woman 10 years ago.  Judge Mark Eveloff rejected on Wednesday a motion by 51-year-old Mark Sands’ attorney to throw out six of seven counts against Sands. The defense attorney argued that the statute of limitations on those counts had run out. But prosecutors successfully argued that state law stops the statute of limitations clock for the time that a defendant lives outside the state. A national DNA database identified Sands, a registered sex offender, in the cold case. The charges against Sands range from kidnapping to burglary, assault and sexual abuse.