A two-month gap between a defendant's guilty plea to rape charges and his subsequent assertion of innocence did not prejudice the state and prevent withdrawal of the plea, the Superior Court has ruled.

The unanimous three-judge panel concluded that a two-month delay in prosecuting the defendant, Talvis Henry Gordy, had not diminished his alleged victims' abilities to testify. The judges in the case pointed to case law tolerating far longer time lapses, including "nine or 10 years."