Three accused child abusers to appear in court

Three men charged with offenses against Carson City children will appear in court Monday.

A status check is scheduled for James Ernest Hope, 43, to determine if both sides are ready to go to trial Feb. 5 in the 2001 molestation of two Carson City girls.

According to investigators, the assaults occurred in 2001 when the girls were ages 4 and 6. He was bound over to District Court in July 2004, but disappeared after similar allegations arose in Douglas County.

He was captured a year ago in Washington under an assumed name and arrested and convicted there of felony child molestation he committed while evading Nevada authorities.

He is also awaiting Douglas County trial Feb. 19, after entering a not-guilty plea there to one count of lewdness with a child under age 14.

Gerald Karpe, 43, will appear before District Judge Todd Russell for sentencing on a charge of sexual assault after being found guilty by a jury in October. Jurors found that Karpe molested a 7-year-old boy a number of times between June 2005 and June 2006.

Karpe maintains his innocence and has appealed the jury verdict. He faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment.

Steven Jones, 21, will also be sentenced on Monday on a charge of child abuse. Jones, formerly with H&S Motorcycles, was arrested in May after the child's mother reported Jones locked himself and the child in a bathroom.

When the boy emerged, he was covered in cigarette burns and spatula marks, according to police reports. Jones pleaded to the charge in October.

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