Rape charges filed against a 20-year-old North Platte man have been dismissed.

On October 15, 2012, North Platte Police responded to the emergency room at Great Plains Regional Medical Center on the report of a sexual assault.

Upon arrival, a female victim told officers she had been sexually assaulted by Joshua Walsh at a residence on West 9th Street.  The victim stated that she had awoken to find Walsh attempting to have sexual intercourse with her.

Through the investigation, a DNA sample was submitted by Walsh, who was 19 at the time, and sent to the Nebraska State Patrol lab for testing.  Police said the results of the test indicated the presence of Walsh’s DNA.

Walsh was arrested on August 20th, 2013, and has been held at the Lincoln County Detention Center since that time.

At a status hearing Monday, Walsh’s attorney, Robert Lindemeier, argued that the case should never have been bound over to District Court based on a lack of evidence by prosecutors.

Lindemeier said in court that, “When you do this (practice law) for this long, you get a sense when something stinks, and this case stinks.”

Lindemeier said the DNA evidence was not sufficient and only provided a partial profile of the suspect.  He said the results showed that the DNA would be a match for 1 in 10 males, saying that, based on the DNA evidence, there could be 20 potential suspects sitting in the court room.

Lincoln County District Court Judge Donald Rowlands took the case under advisement, and on Tuesday, issued a statement that he was dismissing the case against Walsh without prejudice, meaning the State could re-file charges against Walsh if more evidence is obtained within the next two years.

Following the ruling, Walsh was released from jail.

In a Facebook post, Walsh’s family said they are thankful for the love, prayers and support him and his family received throughout the ordeal.