Child rape case set for Tuesday

Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday for the trial of Gerald Karpe, a Carson City man accused of repeatedly raping a little boy last year.

Karpe, 42, remains in the Carson City Jail on $100,000 bail since his arrest July 21, 2006, on suspicion of felony rape of a victim under 16.

According to the arrest report, deputies were called to the child's home July 14, 2006, by the boy's mother.

She told police she and her son had moved out of state and her 7-year-old son became "angry and distant" when she told him they were coming back to Nevada for a visit.

She said the boy had also recently begun to wet his bed and "display strange behavior traits."

When the mother questioned her son, he told her that "Jerry did bad things to him," according to the report.

Karpe allegedly assaulted the boy, to whom he is related, at least nine times at Karpe's Champion Street mobile home.

When questioned by detectives, the handyman denied any wrongdoing.

The original trial date of May 22 was vacated so the boy could undergo a psychological evaluation.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.